Rozen Maiden: Märchen
by Sin Oan
Summary: My attempt at a 3rd season. Tensions rise when Jun receives a package from Rozen, whilst Kirakishou awakens and changes the rules of the Alice Game. Complete
1. EP1: Special Delivery

NOTES: This is my first Rozen Maiden fic. It takes place after Traumend and follows the anime continuity. It may contradict the events of Ouverture, as I have not seen it. I will split it into several episodic arcs. Spoilers for the anime, obviously. Feel free to leave comments and such, but please don't overly criticise as I am only doing this for fun.

EDIT/UPDATE: This story contains yuri/femslash and twincest. If you don't like that then_ don't read this._ Be warned.

* * *

******Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE 1

Special Delivery

* * *

It was a beautiful rose garden, filled with countless white roses as far as the eye could see. The fragrance was divine, the breeze soft, the air pleasantly warm. The girl walked among the roses, almost blending in with her flowing white hair and white dress. She knelt down and picked one of the roses, lifting it to her face and inhaling the scent of it. As she turned her head, her hair moved, revealing that in place of one eye grew a delicate white rose very much like the one she held.

He came then, her father. She smiled and ran to him as he approached, and he knelt down to stroke her hair. She was happy. She asked him if today was the day - the day she could meet her sisters. She'd been waiting to meet them ever since father told her about them. Six beautiful sisters, fellow Rozen Maiden. Father grew sad. He told her that she couldn't see her sisters, not yet. She was special, and he had a very special job for her. He needed her to protect something that was precious to him, and only she could do it.

Seeing his sadness, she would have done anything to make him smile again. She told him that she would guard the treasure for as long as he wished. He did smile then, but it was a sad sort of smile. He led her deep into the rose garden, to a clearing. There was a stone altar there, and upon it was a wooden case adorned with a metal rose. She looked at it and then turned her one-eyed gaze up toward her father.

He told her that she had to go to sleep for a very long time. She was scared. She didn't want to sleep, but if that was what father wished ...

She climbed into the case and curled up. The last thing she saw was father's face as he closed the lid and plunged her into darkness. The last sound she heard was the 'click' of the lock. She felt sad and lonely then, so she slept and dreamt of roses.

Time passed ...

The demon Laplace strode through the rose garden and made his way to the clearing. There he found a brilliant white crystal shaped like rose petals, though it was large - larger even than himself. He stopped and stared at it. There was a tiny crack, and as he watched, it grew. The crack spread and widened, and within moments the entire crystal rose shattered into a million fragments.

And there, amidst the remains, was a case. His ears twitched as he heard a 'click', and he watched in silence as the case slowly opened. Kirakishou, the true seventh Rozen Maiden doll, emerged into the light.

* * *

Jun shut the front door and stifled a yawn. "I'm back!" he called out. There was no answer, and no one was there to greet him. That was not so unusual these days. He slipped out of his shoes and wondered into the front room. The television was on and there was a Detective Kun-Kun dvd box on the floor in front of it. An episode of the puppet show in question was playing. He strolled over to the fridge and grabbed a carton of orange juice.

"Welcome back human, how was school?"

That was Suiseiseki. Jun turned and saw her standing up on the couch, watching him. He frowned.

"Do you have to keep calling me 'human'?" he asked, "I have a name you know."

"Avoiding the subject I see," Suiseiseki tutted, "I can only assume that your puny brain failed to grasp even the most basic problems the educational system has to offer."

"You're one to talk!" said Kanaria, springing into view. Jun gaped at her as she glared at Suiseiseki. "It's not as if your brain is anything to brag about."

Suiseiseki gasped. "What was that? Did you just call me stupid?"

Kanaria crossed her arms and looked smug. "If the shoe fits, y'know?"

Jun shoved the juice back into the fridge and groaned. "Kanaria, what are you doing here again?"

"Oh, Micchan is away on a business trip, so I thought I would stay here until she got back."

"You're kidding? It'd be nice if you at least asked."

Kanaria frowned. "But I did ask - Nori said it would be fine."

"Oh she did, did she?" he looked around for some sign of his sister. "Where is Nori, anyway?"

"She went out to get some shopping," Kanaria said, "I'm sure she'll be back soon."

Jun sighed. Well, it couldn't be helped. Kanaria wasn't that bad, truth be told. None of them were, really, but he felt as if he ought to show at least a token amount of annoyance. Having her around might actually liven the place up. Ever since the incident with Barasuishou things had been pretty quiet. He hadn't realised how much Hinaichigo cheered the place up until she was gone. To his own astonishment he actually found himself missing her a lot. Suiseiseki wasn't helping matters either, alternating between sulking and annoying everyone. She was missing Souseiseki and she didn't know what to do about it.

"Where's Shinku?" Jun asked. Kanaria was still watching him nervously, but Suiseiseki had returned to watching Kun-Kun. She shrugged.

"Where do you think?" she muttered. Jun glanced upwards.

"Still?"

Shinku was a problem. On the one hand she'd recently got to see her father, who'd essentially brought her back from the dead. On the other hand he'd promptly dumped a ton of responsibility onto her shoulders, charging her with the task of bringing back Hina and Souseiseki. She was acting as if she were on a personal mission from God. She'd even stopped drinking tea. Jun was worried about her.

He found her in his room, which was a complete mess. Unusually, the mess had been caused by Shinku and not him, which was odd because normally she insisted on things being neat and tidy. Books were strewn everywhere, most of them left open. Some were stacked three feet high and sprouted dozens of bookmarks. Shinku herself was slumped over his desk, sound asleep. His computer was on, and as he approached and glanced at the screen, he saw that she had more windows and tabs open on his web browser than he could count. That was another thing - she'd taken to using his computer to look things up online. Until recently she'd never even touched the thing. These days he could barely prize her away.

"Shinku ..." he sighed. He set about tidying up, collecting the scattered books and stacking them neatly into the corner of the room. When he was finished he got changed out of his school uniform (felt weird wearing that again) and then turned his attention back to Shinku. She looked so peaceful, asleep, but he had to try and sort this out. He reached over her and shut the computer off. The sudden absence of the computer hum caused her to start awake.

"What?" she said, not quite with it. She looked around and saw Jun. "Oh. You are back," she turned to the computer and stared at it, her eyes widening in apparent horror. "Why is this off? What happened?"

"I turned it off," said Jun, his hands on his hips. Shinku seemed to panic, something that was so very unlike her.

"Why ... why would you do that?" she tried repeatedly to turn the computer back on, to no avail.

"I unplugged it as well," Jun explained. Shinku seemed to get a hold of herself and turned her full, irate attention on Jun.

"For what reason?" she demanded.

"Shinku, this is getting ridiculous. I know you want to find answers, but this isn't the way to do it!" he said. Shinku stood (she'd been kneeling on his chair so as to reach the keyboard) and hopped down onto the floor. She brushed herself off and regarded him coldly.

"Indeed. Perhaps then you would care to suggest an alternative?"

"You know I don't have any idea how to bring them back, but that doesn't mean you should bury yourself in books, hoping that just maybe you'll stumble across something."

Shinku glanced around his room, noting that he had tidied away all of said books. Her eyes narrowed. "Do I need to remind you, Jun, that Hinaichigo and Souseiseki are relying on me? Father entrusted their fate to me and I will not stand idly by and do nothing."

Jun sagged. "I never said you should do nothing, I'm just saying that what you _are_ doing is wrong. I don't know what the right thing to do is, but clearly this isn't it. You've been at this for almost two weeks now and you haven't found anything that could help."

Shinku winced and looked away. "That is my failing. I am not trying hard enough. I must redouble my efforts."

Jun slumped to his knees so that he was more level with her. "Shinku, please ... I hate seeing you like this. Won't you at least come downstairs and have a cup of tea?"

She seemed to consider it for a moment, but then she saw the cases. Inside were the still forms of Hinaichigo and Souseiseki, neither of which had moved since the false Alice game with Barasuishou. She shook her head and marched past Jun, heading for the corner of the room where he'd stacked all of her books.

"Okay," said Jun, getting to his feet, "That's it."

He grabbed a hold of a stunned Shinku and made it out the door to his room before she had even recovered enough to protest. Whereupon she did protest, loudly.

"Unhand me this instant!" she shouted, shoving at Jun. "How dare you touch me without my permission!"

That was starting to sound like the old Shinku, he reflected. He winced as she kicked and punched at him (very unladylike behaviour), and held onto her as he went downstairs and into the front room. Shinku was still spouting off demands at the top of her voice and drew the attention of everyone, including Nori, who stopped midway through unpacking the shopping to stare. Jun finally set Shinku down in the middle of the room and stepped back. He glared at her.

"Right, strategy meeting. Everyone. Here. Now!"

Suiseiseki and Kanaria slid off the couch and joined Shinku, who looked as if she were ready to attack Jun at any second. Jun sat down on the floor and crossed his arms, not taking his eyes off Shinku.

"Umm, what's going on?" asked Suiseiseki cautiously, noting the very obvious tension between the two. Shinku curled her tiny hands into fists.

"This _servant_ is interrupting my research," Shinku said icily.

"As a matter of fact I'm helping," Jun shot back, "Since you're so obviously determined, I see no reason why the rest of us shouldn't pitch in as well."

"What?" said Kanaria, looking back and forth between everyone, utterly confused.

"Umm, Jun-kun? Is everything okay?" Nori asked, the worry painfully evident in her voice. Jun still did not take his eyes off Shinku.

"Everything is fine, sis," he said calmly. Shinku shook.

"I do not require any assistance, I can manage perfectly well by myself," she said. Jun snorted.

"Obviously not. You said it yourself - you've failed to get anywhere so far. You clearly can't manage on your own."

Shinku's anger melted away to be replaced by hurt shock. She stared at the floor, blinking back tears. "Father told me that I must help them. I will not fail him. I will not let them down. Father told me ..."

"Oh, Shinku ..." Suiseiseki reached out and hugged Shinku tightly. "For once the puny human is right," she said, "Don't you think I want to help bring back Souseiseki? Let us help out."

Shinku sobbed into her shoulder, and Jun suddenly felt bad at pushing her so hard. It needed to be said though. He couldn't let her carry on the way she was. His expression softened and he looked across at his sister.

"Hey Nori, could you make us some tea please?" he asked. She blinked and then smiled.

"You got it."

Five minutes later they were all comfortably seated with a cup of tea. Shinku had stopped crying and seemed almost embarrassed at her behaviour. She sipped her tea and took a deep, steadying breath.

"I do not know what to do," she admitted, "There is very little information to be found on the Rozen Maiden. I have tried to track down master doll makers like father and Enju, in the hopes that I might find one to help. So far I have not been successful. I am at a loss."

Jun set his tea down and looked to the other two dolls. "Do either of you guys have any ideas?"

Suiseiseki merely shook her head, but Kanaria seemed thoughtful. "Umm, well it seems to me that the biggest problem is that we don't have their Rosa Mystica. If we want to bring them back, we need those, right?"

"But how are we supposed to find them?" said Suiseiseki, "Rosa Mystica are meant to go to whoever wins a battle in the Alice game. From what Jun said, that horrible Barasuishou had all of our Rosa Mystica, and now she's gone."

Jun scratched his head, trying to think the whole thing through. "I know Rozen collected your Rosa Mystica and put them back in you, but he didn't do the same to Hina and Souseiseki. Shouldn't he still have them?"

Shinku frowned. "If he did, why then would he task me with helping them? Father must know that we need their Rosa Mystica to restore them. I do not believe he would hold on to them if he expected me to be able to return them to Hinaichigo and Souseiseki."

They all fell silent for some time, mulling the situation over. The silence was broken by Kanaria, who was fidgeting in her seat.

"I have a question," she said. Everyone looked at her expectantly, prompting her to go on. "Well there are a total of seven Rozen Maiden dolls, right?"

"Yes," said Shinku.

"Umm, well ... we all thought that BaraBara was the seventh doll. But she wasn't really, she was an impostor."

"Yeah," said Jun, "she was made by Rozen's apprentice, Enju. He wanted to prove he was the better doll maker."

"What's your point?" asked Suiseiseki in an irritated fashion. Kanaria squirmed.

"Well, just that ... if BaraBara _wasn't_ the real seventh doll ... who is?"

Everyone stared at her. It took several moments before her point finally sank in. Shinku's mouth hung open, and she was appalled with herself for not realizing this sooner. Suiseiseki blinked in astonishment.

"You know, the little brat actually has a point," she said. Kanaria glared at her.

"Hey! Kana's not a brat y'hear? I didn't say anything before because I thought it was so obvious you all already knew. I guess spotting the obvious is beyond even your severely limited abilities."

A fight broke out between them, but Jun's attention was drawn by his sister, who walked into the front room carrying a big package. She groaned.

"Jun-kun, you haven't started ordering things from online again, have you?" she asked. Jun got up and took the package from her. It was quite heavy. It was also addressed to him, which was odd because he certainly didn't recall ordering anything.

"No, I told you I don't do that anymore. Someone must have sent me something."

The package was rectangular and wrapped in several layers of packing paper. Jun set the thing down on the floor and tore the paper away, while Suiseiseki and Kanaria continued pulling each others hair, completely oblivious. Shinku watched Jun with interest.

"Woah!" Jun stared in stunned amazement as the wrapping came away. The dolls stopped their squabbling and stared as well. Nori leaned on her knees and peered at it.

"Hey, isn't that ..." she started to say.

It was a case. A Rozen Maiden case, the same kind as each of the dolls used to sleep in at night. The design was unmistakable. And it had been sent to _him_. There was an envelope taped to the top of the case too, with his name written on it. He pulled it off, tore the envelope open and removed a letter from inside.

It said:

_Please take care of her_

_- Rozen_

Jun blinked. Rozen? Rozen had sent him it? He lowered the letter and stared blankly at the case. Wait ... her? He reached out and lifted up the lid. If everyone present had been surprised before, that was nothing compared to the utter shock they all felt as they saw what lay within the case.

It was Barasuishou.

"Huh," said Jun.


	2. EP1: Will You Wind?

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE 1

Will You Wind?

* * *

"Give that back!"

Jun chased Suiseiseki out of the front room and cornered her down the hallway. She backed up to the bathroom door, clutching the winding key tightly in her hands.

"Get away, you!" she shouted back, "I am so not going to let you wind up that crystal menace!"

Jun stopped. "What the heck are you getting so worked up about?"

Suiseiseki gaped at him as if he were a complete moron. "How can you even ask that? Have you forgotten what that rotten evil impostor did to us?"

Jun put his hands on his hips and tapped his foot impatiently. "Yeah, and look how that worked out for her. She'd have to be suicidal to try and take your Rosa Mystica again."

Suiseiseki shook her head defiantly. Jun rolled his eyes and took another step towards her, prompting her to squeeze even further back against the bathroom door.

"Don't come any closer!"

Jun ignored her and reached out to snatch the key from her grasp, whereupon she promptly slipped it down the front of her dress. Jun froze, his eyes widening at what she'd done. Suiseiseki grinned triumphantly.

"Ha! I'd like to see you try and get it now!"

"You ..." he floundered, "You rotten little doll, I can't believe you just did that!"

Suiseiseki crossed her arms and pointed her nose into the air haughtily. "Now you have no choice but leave that evil Barasuishou as she is," she said. Jun's eyes narrowed.

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that ..." he reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder. She cried out in alarm.

"You ... you wouldn't dare!"

"Wouldn't I?"

Jun reached out with his other hand, intending to retrieve the winding key from her. Several long moments passed and he grew increasingly warm with each second, staring at the ribbon around her neck. Finally he let go of her and dropped back, blushing furiously. Annoyed with himself, he looked away.

"You're right," he said, "I wouldn't."

Suiseiseki sighed, not entirely sure whether to be relieved or disappointed. An idea suddenly occurred to Jun. "Wait a second ... I bet those keys are interchangeable. Yeah, I bet I could use yours or Shinku's and it would still work!" He got up and turned away from her, intending to head upstairs and retrieve one of the other dolls winding keys from his room. Before he could take more than two steps however, he was tackled around both legs by Suiseiseki and Kanaria and went crashing to the ground.

"Ow! Get the heck off me you demented dolls!" he cried out, trying to shake them off. Jun saw Shinku standing in the doorway to the front room, watching the spectacle with a deadpan expression. He waved towards her. "Hey Shinku, gimme a hand here!"

"Certainly not," she said calmly, "It is not befitting of a lady to engage in such behavior."

As Jun continued to struggle against the two dolls holding him down, the doorbell rang. Nori said that she would get it and stepped past Shinku to answer the door. Before Jun could protest that doing so under the circumstances might be a bad idea, the door was already open and he found himself looking up into the eyes of Tomoe Kashiwaba.

"Hello Jun," she said amicably.

"Oh, hi there Tomoe," said Nori, smiling, "come on in."

"I came over to see if Jun needed any help with his homework," she explained, stepping in and slipping out of her shoes. She showed no reaction to the struggle going on between Jun and the dolls. Jun finally succeeded in throwing said dolls off and got to his feet. He brushed himself off and glowered at them.

"If you guys do that again, I'll hide all the snacks from you," he threatened them. Suiseiseki turned away and looked smug.

"It was for the greater good."

"Is there a problem?" asked Tomoe. Jun turned to her and said 'Yes', while Suiseiseki and Kanaria both said 'No' at the same time. Nori stepped in front of them and waved dismissively.

"I was just about to make something to eat, are you hungry at all?"

* * *

Shinku sat with Suiseiseki and Kanaria watching television, whilst Jun and Tomoe worked on their homework together around the kitchen table. Shinku watched them for some time until Suiseiseki spoke, her tone a mixture of confusion and annoyance.

"I can't believe father would do such a thing," she said, eyeing the case in the corner of the room where Barasuishou lay, "She isn't even a Rozen Maiden, she's a fake, so why would he bring her back? And after all she did, too ..."

Shinku considered the matter. "She did defeat us all at the Alice game ... perhaps father felt that she has proven herself worthy of being a Rozen Maiden."

"We're not going to have to wind her up, are we?" Kanaria asked nervously. Barasuishou scared her, and with good reason. Suiseiseki held up the winding key that had been in the case.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," she said smugly. "You agree, right Shinku? We should leave her in there. Shinku?"

Shinku wasn't listening. She was watching Jun and Tomoe again. Seeing them together made her feel distinctly uncomfortable, though she couldn't express just why that might be so. "Miss Kashiwaba has been visiting here quite frequently," Shinku remarked suddenly, "Has she not?"

Suiseiseki glanced over at the kitchen table for a moment and then shrugged. "I guess. Jun is obviously such a bumbling bumblehead that he needs a smart girl to help drag his flabby behind through school. It almost makes you feel sorry for her."

Shinku sighed. "They seem very close."

Suiseiseki stared at Shinku, wondering what she was getting at. Considering all that had happened with Barasuishou one might expect her to show more interest in Jun's recent package, but she seemed far more distracted than her usual self.

"Is something the matter, Shinku?"

"What?" Shinku blinked and looked around at her. "No, it's nothing ..." she turned her attention back to the television, but she wasn't really watching it. Suiseiseki noticed Shinku's hands tighten as she heard Jun and Tomoe laughing together.

* * *

Jun rubbed out his mistake with the eraser and tried again, this time getting it right. It was a good thing Tomoe had come - he really was hopeless. He'd spent months working hard to catch up so he could return to school, and he was still way behind everyone else. If it weren't for Tomoe spending so much time helping him make sense of it all, he'd be lost. Lately he'd been thanking her so much that she'd flat out told him to stop, as it was unnecessary.

"Man, I feel so stupid sometimes," he muttered.

"You know you're not," said Tomoe, soft spoken and gentle as always, "You used to be top of the class. You're just less confident than you were, that's all. Try to have a little faith in yourself, Jun."

She smiled at him and he blushed. He turned his gaze back towards his workbook. "You don't need to keep coming here to help me, you know," he said.

"Don't you want me here?"

"No, i-it's not that ..." he stuttered, "I just ... I mean don't you have better things to be doing than coaching me? This can't be all that fun for you."

"I don't mind," she said, jotting down her own answers, "Actually, I've been thinking; why don't you join a club?"

Jun blinked in surprise. "Huh?"

"There are lots of fun clubs at school, maybe you should join one of them. You're always studying so hard and worrying about things, it might help you to relax a little. I'm sure that if you were more relaxed you'd do much better at school."

A club? Jun thought about it for a moment. He wasn't so sure that would be a good idea. Even though he was back in school, he still avoided people to a noticeable degree. He knew they were talking about him behind his back. Joining a club would mean interacting with more of the people at school, and he wasn't so sure he was ready for that. He still felt hugely embarrassed just walking through the front doors every day. The last thing he needed was to go and humiliate himself in front of everyone at some club activity. Tomoe was watching him carefully and could see the doubt in him.

"Well, it's something to think about at least," she said, "Let me know if you're ever interested - I could put in a good word for you."

"Yeah, thanks," Jun murmured, trying to focus on his homework again.

It was quite late by the time Tomoe left. Jun noticed that she was spending more and more time here when she came to visit. Even Nori spotted it, and said as much when she waved Tomoe off and shut the front door.

"You know Jun, I think she likes you."

"I don't know what you mean," Jun said defensively. Nori tilted her head to one side and smiled.

"Oh, come on Jun-kun, you don't have to be shy about it with me. I'm your sister after all."

Jun was exasperated. "Nori, I don't have any idea what you're talking about. Tomoe is helping me out with my school work, that's all."

Nori strode past him and headed for the front room, a knowing look on her face. "Well I think it's wonderful that you're both getting along so well. You know, you should invite her over for dinner this weekend ..."

Jun groaned and buried his face in his hands to hide his embarrassment. "Nori, please just stop!"

He followed her into the front room, oblivious to the fact that he was being watched. On the upstairs landing, Shinku stood very still, staring off into space. She closed her eyes for a long moment before turning and heading into Jun's room. She walked over to the shelf where all her things were neatly stored and removed a small box from it. She stared at it in silence for a time, and then slowly opened it. A sweet melody filled the air as the music box began to play, and Shinku listened to it feeling very, very sad for some reason.


	3. EP1: Dark Covenant

Thanks for the reviews. Sorry if the last chapter wasn't very good, it's hard to concentrate sometimes when life gets hectic and you're trying to snatch any free time you can to type up something. Here is part three of episode 1 - the next chapter should be the end of the first episode. For any Barasuishou fans out there, expect her to play a bigger part in episode 2.

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE 1

Dark Covenant

* * *

It was almost midnight by the time Nori finally trudged upstairs and headed for bed. She yawned widely, putting her hand in front of her mouth out of habitual politeness. Jun was sitting up in bed, reading. She popped her head into his room and wished him a good night, before making for her own room.

It gladdened her heart to see how much he had changed. He was really starting to grow up now - she noticed he was taller than she seemed to remember, and Tomoe had told her that Jun had started to wonder what he might do when he was older, as a living. He didn't actually have the faintest idea, but he was wondering about it all the same, and that was a good thing. Wasn't it?

And there was Tomoe herself. Jun hadn't had any friends since he'd dropped out of school. Truth be told, he'd never really had many even before then. He definitely seemed to enjoy spending time with Tomoe now though, in that awkward sort of embarrassed way that boys did around girls. He wouldn't admit to being anything but friends with her, yet Nori was sure there was something more there. It helped that Tomoe knew about the dolls - a sure stumbling block in any potential friendship he might form with someone.

Nori stifled another yawn and opened the door to her bedroom. To her surprise the bedside light was already on, and there, sitting on the edge of her bed, was Shinku. The doll regarded Nori with her usual inscrutable expression as she entered.

"Shinku? What's wrong?" Nori asked, worried. She shut the door behind her as Shinku looked away.

"Nori ... I wished to discuss something with you," she said. Nori sat down beside her, trying to imagine what Shinku could possibly want to talk about.

"Sure, what is it?"

Shinku was silent for a while, and she seemed to purposely be facing away from Nori so that she could not see her clearly. "I do not really know how to ask ..." she started to say, apparently having difficulty in choosing her words.

"Could you at least look at me, Shinku?" Nori asked, growing more concerned by the dolls behaviour. Reluctantly, Shinku shifted her position around so that Nori could see her, though Shinku did not make eye contact with her. Rather, she stared fixedly at the floor. Nori leaned down a little so she could see Shinku's face a bit better. "What's troubling you?"

Shinku hesitated, as if she were about to reconsider the whole conversation, such as it was. Steeling herself, she pressed on. "I was just wondering ... do you think it possible ... " she stopped and sighed. Nori thought she looked depressed.

"What?"

"Do you believe it is possible for a human to truly love a doll?"

Nori was taken aback. And then it hit her. Of course! She should have realised sooner. Shinku was ... Shinku was jealous! Here she was teasing Jun about his growing friendship with Tomoe - a fact that was plain for anyone to see - and she hadn't stopped to consider how Shinku might feel. Of course she knew that Shinku loved Jun very much. It was just ... well, she had to admit that she'd never thought about Jun and Shinku in that way. Shinku was a doll, after all.

Except ... she was much more than that. She was a living doll, with a depth of emotion as real as any human. She was a person. It never occurred to Nori that Shinku's feelings for Jun might be anything but deeply platonic.

"Shinku ..." was all Nori managed to say. Shinku slid down off her bed and straightened her dress.

"Forget I said anything, it was a foolish question," she said.

"Wait!" Nori called out, stopping Shinku on her way to the door, "Shinku ... are you saying that you're in love with Jun?"

Shinku said nothing. She stood there, halfway between the bed and the door, with her back to Nori. Nori clasped her hands together and held them close to her chest, as if she could grasp the surge of sympathy she felt for Shinku.

"Then tell him!"

Shinku spun to face Nori, her expression distraught. "I cannot!"

"But why?"

Shinku hesitated again, and again her gaze dropped low. "Because ... I am not human. It is not fair to tell Jun how I feel about him when he has a chance to be with someone ... someone real."

Nori surged off her bed and dropped to her knees beside Shinku, her eyes wide with emotion. "But you are real, Shinku!" she insisted, "don't you realize how much you mean to him? You've changed his life, you've helped him get well. He's ... he's become a better person since he met you. You've done so much for him, how can you possibly say that you're not real?"

Shinku met Nori's gaze, somewhat taken back by her emphatic assurances, yet her own eyes were tinged with sadness. "There comes a time when one must face facts, Nori. The fact is that I am a doll. A living doll, perhaps, but a doll all the same. I must hide away in this house while Jun goes out each day and lives his life. I cannot go with him. People would not understand. It would create problems for him. It is also true that he is growing up, and someday he must go out into the world, whilst I must remain behind."

Now Nori lowered her gaze, downcast. "I understand what you're saying, but ..." she trailed off.

"What kind of life could we have together?" Shinku asked plainly, "I can never be anything more to Jun than I am now. I have tried to ignore that fact, but doing so is childish. I must face reality. I think ..." Shinku turned away, tears welling up in her eyes. She wiped them away angrily, her eyes narrowing in sudden determination, as if she knew what she needed to do - had known for a long time. "I think that perhaps I should consider leaving here before it becomes too difficult for us to part."

Nori couldn't believe what she was hearing. Shinku ... leave? She didn't want to even think it, and she knew Jun would be torn apart if she did leave. Nori reached out and grabbed Shinku by her shoulders, forcing the doll to face her. "What are you saying? How can you even think of leaving?"

"Nori ..."

"You said you love Jun, but you're willing to break his heart by running away? And for what? Because you're afraid he'll choose a human girl over you? You won't even ask him! You won't even tell him how you really feel!" Nori shook her head, furious, "If that's what you're going to do I doubt I could stop you, but at the very least you have to tell Jun why, talk to him and find out how he really feels about you. You owe him that."

Shinku considered her words, and then finally nodded. Nori let go of her, slowly and with no small amount of reluctance, as if afraid Shinku might vanish there and then. Shinku quietly bid her goodnight, leaving Nori alone in her room to think over what had just been said. She cried for a while, but it didn't make her feel much better.

Before Shinku had come, Jun had shut himself away in his room and was angry if Nori even said hello to him. She herself had been lonely, because her little brother wanted nothing to do with her, or anyone for that matter. Now? Now Jun was back in school. He helped Nori out with the chores, made tea, he _talked_ with her. He was _nice_. A large part of that change was because of Shinku, she had no doubt of that. If Shinku left ... she was afraid Jun might snap and go back to the way he had been before. Only this time he would never get better. Did Jun love Shinku the way she loved him? Nori didn't know, but even if he did he might never admit it. Shinku wanted to leave because she saw no future with Jun even if he did return her feelings, but Nori knew that if she did leave, Jun would have no future at all.

She resisted the urge to go to Jun right there and then and have it all out. It was after midnight, she was tired and Jun was surely asleep by now. It would have to wait until morning. With extreme reluctance she climbed into bed and turned out the light. She lay there for a very long time, feeling thoroughly depressed and not a little afraid, before finally drifting off into a troubled sleep.

* * *

Normally when one falls asleep they enter a surreal dream state where their perception of time is warped. They might experience a dream that seems to last forever, or wake up the next morning feeling as if they'd only just laid their head down on the pillow. Nori was familiar with the sensation of sleep, which is why she immediately knew something was wrong.

For one thing she felt as if she were wide-awake. It was a distinct difference in awareness that comes from actually being fully conscious. The problem was, she was standing in a vast rose garden with no memory of how she had got there. All of the roses were white, and the sky looked ... odd.

"Umm ... hello?" she called out.

"Hello," said a voice. It was a soft, female voice, and it was directly behind her. Nori spun around and found the person it belonged to. It was a very strange looking girl. She wore a frilly white dress and had long, silvery white hair to go with it. She also had only one eye, which was yellow in colour. Nori could get past that, but in place of the girls other eye was a white rose, which seemed to be growing out of her actual eye socket. It was very disconcerting.

"Who are you?" Nori asked, deciding to stick with the predictable questions on the grounds that they were actually relevant and important.

"My name is Kirakishou," said the girl, "and I am the _true_ seventh Rozen Maiden doll."

A Rozen Maiden? Nori was surprised, and looked it. She was also very confused, and glanced around. "What is this place? How did I get here?"

"I entered your dream world while you slept," Kirakishou explained in a sweet, honey coated voice, "I changed the scenery to something ... more pleasant. You have very ... peculiar dreams."

Nori was actually annoyed now, and put her hands on her hips in an angry posture. "Now just wait a minute, it's very rude to go barging into people's dreams without their permission!"

Kirakishou nodded her assent. "Very rude, yes. I have no choice though. I cannot come and speak to you in person. I'm trapped, you see. A prisoner. Entering your dream was the only way I could speak to you, and I have something very important to say."

"Oh?" Nori calmed quickly. A prisoner?

"I believe you are familiar with some of my sisters," the strange doll went on, "including the ones known as Hinaichigo and Souseiseki."

"Yeah, I know them."

"I have something that belongs to them. Their Rosa Mystica."

"Really?" Nori clapped her hands together in excitement. Whilst she was certainly no expert on Rozen Maiden, she knew enough about them to know what a Rosa Mystica was, and she'd heard everyone talking earlier. They needed to find Hina and Souseiseki's Rosa Mystica to return them to normal again.

"I will give them to you," said Kirakishou carefully, "in exchange for something."

"What?" asked Nori, "If I have it, it's yours."

Kirakishou smiled. That was one scary smile, thought Nori, but one shouldn't judge a book by its cover, right?

"Swear upon this rose ring," said Kirakishou, extending her hand. Upon one of her fingers was a ring identical to the one that Jun wore. "Enter the covenant with me, and I shall give you Hinaichigo and Souseiseki's Rosa Mystica."

Nori hesitated. "You ... want me to be your medium?"

"Yes. I am so very lonely, Miss Sakurada. If you become my medium then I can be by your side. I won't have to be alone anymore."

Nori wasn't sure, but Jun was Shinku and Suiseiseki's medium, and he was fine wasn't he? And if she could be the one to give Jun the missing Rosa Mystica it would mean she could finally do something useful for him. Maybe with Hina and Souseiseki back Shinku would reconsider leaving?

"Well, I guess ... okay," she leaned forwards and kissed the ring, just as Jun had said he'd done. There was a brilliant bright light and the next thing she knew her hand was burning. She gripped her wrist and saw a similar light shining brightly on her own hand. The light materialised into a ring, which continued to burn her. The pain grew to a tremendous degree, and Nori fell to her knees and cried out, her ring glowing like a fiery brand.

"Good girl," said Kirakishou. She giggled. "And so gullible."

"It ... hurts," Nori managed to squeeze the words out between clenched teeth. Kirakishou giggled even louder.

"Of course it does - I'm drawing energy from your body. If I keep this up, you'll die."

The pain suddenly and abruptly stopped. Nori sagged to the ground, still clutching her hand. She felt incredibly weak and faint, as if she'd been doing sports for several hours without stop. She started to sob. Kirakishou knelt down and thrust her head close to Nori's, so that their faces were mere inches apart. She really didn't look nice at all.

"Now Miss Sakurada, your life is in my hands. Unless you want to die, listen very, very carefully ..."


	4. EP1: Having Your Cake

Here is the final part of episode one. I hope you enjoy. This chapter also contains some mild yuri, so if you don't like that then you might not want to read. It is pretty mild, but it'll probably get stronger in future episodes. I'll be off for a short while to work on some other things, but episode two shouldn't be more than a week away. Thanks for reading!

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE 1

Having Your Cake

* * *

The following morning everyone awoke to a fabulous breakfast prepared by Nori. Despite this, it didn't take them long to notice the appearance of a certain rose ring upon her finger, and when questioned about it she promptly burst into tears and began babbling apology's. Jun managed to calm her down enough to get an explanation, and Nori recounted the previous nights encounter with Kirakishou to the stunned dolls.

Jun leaned back in his chair and planted a hand over his face in dismay. "Oh man, not _another_ evil doll. This is all we need."

"I'm so sorry, Jun-kun," Nori wailed, clutching her tea. She felt terrible for being duped. Jun shook his head.

"Don't worry about it, you couldn't have known this would happen. How do we even know this doll is the real deal? She could be another fake."

"Does it matter?" said Shinku, sipping at her own tea, "Regardless she has your sisters life in her hands. Rozen Maiden or not, she is a threat."

"What does she want?" Suiseiseki asked Nori, "I mean if she's letting you tell us all this then she must want something from us in exchange for your life. Did she say what?"

Nori nodded, still not looking up. Guilt was hanging heavily on her. "She said she wants Barasuishou."

The table was silent for a moment, until Suiseiseki blurted out a laugh. "Is that all? Well then what are we all worrying about? If she wants that crazy crystal killer I say we hand her over and count ourselves lucky. Good riddance."

"Hell yeah!" Kanaria chimed in, every bit as eager as Suiseiseki to see the back of the doll that had recently killed her. Shinku neglected to voice her view on the matter, and her expression was completely unreadable this morning. Jun however seemed uncomfortable.

"Can we really do that? I mean Rozen himself sent Barasuishou to me and asked me to look after her. If I give her away five minutes after she gets here then I'm hardly doing what he asks, am I?"

Now Shinku did speak. "I am sure father would not wish you to sacrifice your sisters life for a mere doll," she said, her voice every bit as level and devoid of expression as her face. Jun's eyes widened in surprise.

"_Mere_ doll? I know you guys have every reason to hate her, but that's pretty cold Shinku."

"Is it?" Shinku asked, her tone of voice suddenly clipped, "Is the life of a human not more valuable than the life of a doll?"

Their eyes locked. Shinku's were fierce whilst Jun's were filled with confusion. What was with her today? He broke eye contact and glanced at his sister, who seemed on the verge of tears again. Finally he turned back to Shinku and returned her fierce glare with as much strength and determination as he could muster.

"Life is life," he said simply, "It's not my place to start deciding which life is more valuable. Of course I don't want Nori to die, but a third option would be pretty nice right about now, that's all I'm saying."

"Sometimes there are no other choices," Shinku pressed on, "You must either turn left or right. There is no middle ground. Try to look for another option and you could lose everything."

"Or gain everything," Jun countered, growing more annoyed by her strange attitude. Suiseiseki rolled her eyes.

"I think what's she's trying to say, Jun, is that you can't have your cake and eat it as well. You have a simple choice to make, and the answer is equally simple. Give this Kirakishou what she wants and we can all get on with our lives without worrying about the psychopathic killer doll sleeping in the corner over there. Now is that clear enough for you, or do you need me to draw you a picture that even Kanaria can understand?"

It took a second for Kanaria to realise that she'd been insulted. "Hey! You take that back right now!"

Suiseiseki ignored her completely, which only made Kanaria even angrier. Jun meanwhile slumped in his chair and leaned his chin on his hand, feeling thoroughly ganged up on. They were right, that was what made it so annoying. That and the fact that it was a choice between two evils. On the one hand it was simple - give up Barasuishou or Nori would die. But what if in doing that he only made things worse? What if this Kirakishou teamed up with Barasuishou and started the whole Alice game all over again? If Kirakishou really was a Rozen Maiden, then Rozen himself wouldn't step in and bring everyone back as he'd done before. He'd proven that much by refusing to revive Hinaichigo and Souseiseki - the two dolls defeated by actual Rozen Maidens.

"Well Jun, what are you going to do?" said Shinku curtly. All eyes fell on Jun, everyone waiting for an answer. He already knew the answer he had to give them, but that didn't mean he had to like it. But then ... the best way to mess up someone's carefully laid plan was to throw a wrench into the works. Do the last thing they'd expect you to do. So ... what was the last thing anyone would expect him to do in a situation like this?

Jun stood up and walked away from the table. There was something he needed to get.

* * *

It was snowing in the N-Field when the group arrived. Everyone had come save Kanaria, who'd been only too happy to obey Suiseiseki's instructions to stay behind and look after the house. Jun carried the unmoving form of Barasuishou in his arms, much in the same way he would carry Shinku. Barasuishou was slightly larger, but he managed just fine. Nori was by his side, afraid and still racked with guilt if the look on her face was anything to go by.

"Relax sis, this'll all be over soon," he said to reassure her. She glanced at him and smiled, though it was a half-hearted smile. He really didn't blame her, she was just trying to help out by getting the lost Rosa Mystica back.

They stopped in the middle of an old street, snow covering the rooftops and pavements, but not lying on the road itself. Neither of the dolls recognised this particular N-Field, but Suiseiseki explained that there were countless fields besides the ones each individual doll possessed. It was pitch black, yet the street was lined with numerous old-fashioned lamps that provided enough light to see clearly with.

Jun took a moment to look down at the doll in his arms. His own feelings about her were mixed. He'd seen her coldly kill Shinku right in front of his eyes, yet he couldn't find it in himself to hate her. Her father had used her to prove himself Rozen's better, and despite the love for her he had professed, Jun had heard Enju lovingly admire Shinku during the Alice game. Jun had watched her crumble to pieces, tears in her eyes at having failed her father. In some ways, she really was like a Rozen Maiden.

Was he doing the right thing?

"Okay! We're here!" Jun called out. It was time to get this over with. They waited, but not for long. One minute the street was empty, the next she was there. It made Jun's head hurt just thinking about it. Kirakishou strolled down the street towards the group. Rose vines curled through the cobblestones in her wake, and she came to a stop half a dozen feet away. The resemblance she bore to Barasuishou was eerie. It was as if they were twins.

"So good of you to come," she said, soft spoken, her voice inviting, alluring almost. She glanced at Shinku and Suiseiseki and smiled. "Nice to finally meet you, sisters. What's wrong? You don't look happy to see me."

"I'm just going to treat that as a rhetorical question and simply stand here glaring at you," said Suiseiseki, reeling in her anger.

"We haven't come to chat," snapped Jun, "I want you to release my sister from her covenant with you."

"Well aren't you a charming boy," Kirakishou turned her yellow eye on Jun now. She raised a hand to her mouth and giggled like a schoolgirl. "I see why she likes you so much. So much like father. Oh well, that can wait. First give me what I want."

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Jun walked towards the creepy doll and held out Barasuishou. Kirakishou extended her arms and took her from him, handling her with great care. Jun backed away from them, whilst Kirakishou embraced Barasuishou and caressed her hair in a loving fashion.

"Finally we can be together," she said quietly, "We will become one and together we shall become Alice."

Jun gestured at Nori, signalling her to come to him. "Now it's your turn - release Nori like you promised."

Kirakishou sighed, seemingly annoyed by the interruption. She carefully laid Barasuishou down on the ground, eyeing the doll longingly as she did so. Reluctantly, she stood and turned away. "Very well. I have what I want, and I certainly don't need a medium ..."

Nori held out her hand, allowing Kirakishou to take a hold of it. She was shaking. Kirakishou smiled at her. "I have frightened you, Miss Sakurada. I am sorry for that, and I am sorry for tricking you as I did," she said. Her voice sounded sweet and sincere, yet her expression was not.

Jun scoffed. "Yeah, I'll bet. Can we just get this over with? Some of us have school today."

Kirakishou blinked and, still holding Nori's shaking hand, turned her attention to Shinku. "My, what an impertinent servant," she said, her voice a perfect imitation of Shinku's. She giggled and said, in her normal voice; "As you wish."

She kissed the ring on Nori's finger, which vanished in a flash of blinding white light. Nori pulled away from her the second it was gone, holding her hand up for inspection. Jun and the dolls stepped in front of her as Kirakishou backed away, smiling with evident good cheer. "And now we are done," she said, "Please give my regards to Kanaria, and-" she stopped, her eye suddenly widening in shock. Something sharp was pressed against her back. She peered over her shoulder and saw, much to her amazement, Barasuishou. The Enju doll was standing behind her holding a crystal sword.

"And now we are done," Barasuishou said. She thrust her sword forwards, intending to impale the seventh doll. Kirakishou vanished in the blink of an eye, reappearing several feet away and looking very taken aback. She raised a finger to her mouth, as if thinking.

"They wound her up," she said, apparently to no-one but herself, "They weren't supposed to do that. I never anticipated ..." she turned her head in Jun's direction, her eye narrowing, her expression sly. "Clever boy."

Shinku and Suiseiseki took a step towards her, their own weapons at the ready. Jun's ring glowed as it sent waves of power to the two dolls, and Barasuishou pointed the tip of her sword at Kirakishou. It seemed as if she was outnumbered, yet she didn't seem overly concerned. Shinku thrashed the air with her cane.

"Now - return Souseiseki and Hinaichigo's Rosa Mystica at once!"

Kirakishou blinked. "Rosa ... Mystica?" She giggled again. "Oh dear, you believed Miss Sakurada when she told you that I had them. Too bad. I lied."

"Where are they?" Suiseiseki demanded hotly, aiming her watering can directly at the seventh doll. Kirakishou smirked.

"If Rosa Mystica you seek, then follow the white rabbit ..." she regarded Barasuishou, her expression softening momentarily. "My dear Barasuishou, will you come with me? I do love you so."

Everyone present was startled to hear her words, though Barasuishou displayed no emotion. She tightened the grip on her crystal sword. "You wish to use me as a vessel so that you may become Alice. I will not help you."

"Oh, but you will," Kirakishou grinned like a shark, "Willingly or not, I shall have you. Until then, accept a parting gift from me ..."

The street lamps glowed fiercely bright, so much so that everyone was forced to shield their eyes from the sudden glare. Before anyone could act, Kirakishou was standing before Barasuishou. She reached out and tore the dolls eye patch away. Then she leaned forwards and kissed her. The lights dimmed, and as everyone recovered the use of their eyesight they soon realised that the seventh Rozen Maiden doll was nowhere to be found. Barasuishou blinked both her eyes. Slowly, she reached up and brushed the tip of a finger against her lips, blushing.

* * *

Jun: And so ends the first episode of Rozen Maiden: Märchen. I hope you enjoyed it.

Suiseiseki: Wait ... that's it? We haven't even had any theme music! This is terrible!

Kanaria: Did someone say music?

Suiseiseki: No! Go away, you!

Kanaria: Aww, no one likes Kana, do they?

Jun: Well, maybe if you did something useful once in a while.

Kanaria: Is ... is Kana not useful?

Suiseiseki: If you have to ask ...

Kanaria: Fine then! Next time, on Rozen Maiden: Märchen - BaraBara gets all emotional, which is all we need. And of course, Shinku continues to sulk.

Shinku: I am not sulking!

Jun: You kinda are Shin-Oww! What did you hit me for?

Shinku: You haven't made me any tea yet. Go and make a pot now.

Jun: Like hell! Oww! Stop hitting me you evil doll!

Suiseiseki: No, no, no! You're doing it all wrong! You're supposed to say, 'Next time, on Rozen Maiden: Märchen,' and then follow it up with a catchy phrase. You know, like we had with the first two seasons.

Kanaria: A catchy phrase? But we don't have one of those!

Suiseiseki: Well then think of one! You're supposed to be the brainiest of the Rozen Maiden, aren't you? Oh, forget it, we've ruined the entire segment now. Just cut it already.


	5. EP2: Elementary, dear Kunkun

And I'm back with the first part of episode 2. Updates probably won't be as frequent as they were for episode 1 as I have other work to do. Still, I really enjoy writing this so I'll do my best not to make you wait too long either. Just to make something clear as well, this _is_ a romance fic, in addition to being a third season. I will be putting in more romance than was in the series. Please keep that in mind if you're not a fan of mushy stuff. Lastly, yes, Suigintou will appear in this episode. Stay tuned.

**

* * *

**

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE 2

Elementary, dear Kunkun

* * *

At long last it was the weekend. Aside from a surprisingly light amount of homework, Jun could finally relax. He didn't remember school being so stressful. Nori on the other hand wasn't quite at ease. She was busy getting ready for her big match. There was some kind of inter-school lacrosse tournament today, and she'd been going haywire with nerves wondering if she'd do well at it. Jun had given up trying to reassure her, and followed her to the door to see her off.

"Good luck, sis," he told her as she slipped on her outdoor shoes. She looked troubled. Was the game really bothering her that much?

"Thanks, Jun," she said. She stopped with the door open, hesitating for a moment. Finally she turned back to her brother, her face etched with worry. "Umm, Jun?"

"Yeah? What's wrong?"

She bit her lip, wondering how much she should say. "It's about Shinku ..."

"Do you know what's up with her?" Jun asked. He jabbed a finger over his shoulder in the direction of the front room, where Shinku sat watching television. "She's been acting pretty weird lately. Weirder than usual, I mean."

"Do you think you could maybe be extra nice to her? I think she's just feeling a little ... down lately."

Jun seemed genuinely confused. "Nice? But I _am_ nice to her. When am I not nice?"

Nori's shoulders slumped a little. "Oh Jun-kun, I'm serious! I think she has something important she wants to talk to you about, and it would really help if you were especially kind to her."

Now she'd piqued his interest. He glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the front room. "Something she wants to ... talk about?" he turned back to his sister, "What? Hey!"

Nori was already gone, her rapidly retreating back disappearing down the driveway. Jun shut the door, grumbling to himself. What was that all about? Be extra kind to Shinku? He supposed he could cut back on shouting at her, but he only did stuff like that when she did something to incite him, like slapping him with her hair or bossing him around. Which ... was pretty much always. She was being especially short with him these last few days. If it weren't for the fact that she was a doll, he'd be inclined to think it was just that time of the month. He'd even said as much to Suiseiseki, who'd promptly kicked him in the shin for the remark. As if he deserved _that_. The evil little doll.

Jun strolled into the front room to find all of the dolls sitting quietly on the couch, watching Madame Pearl. They were probably waiting for the Kunkun show to start. The new season began today, and they weren't about to miss the first episode. He swept his gaze across the room and realised that there was one doll missing - their newest arrival, Barasuishou. Of course she wasn't here; she'd be upstairs in his room, keeping out of the way. It didn't take a genius to see that the other dolls couldn't stand being around her and she'd clearly picked up on that. With a sigh, Jun turned around and headed upstairs.

Sure enough he found her standing on his bed looking out the window. She did that a lot. Just stood and stared out of the window for hours on end, not moving an inch. Suiseiseki and Kanaria had moved their cases into Nori's room, as they refused to sleep in the same room as her. Shinku didn't appear to mind, though she also hadn't said one word to Barasuishou since the incident with Kirakishou and his sister, and seemed to be pretending the Enju doll did not actually exist. Jun kinda felt sorry for Barasuishou. Sure, he understood everyone's reasons for acting this way, but still ...

"Hey, the Kunkun show is about to start. You wanna watch it?" Jun asked the silent figure. She didn't turn around.

"They do not want me down there," said Barasuishou calmly, "So I will remain here."

Jun leaned against the doorframe and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Don't you get bored just standing there all day?"

Barasuishou turned away from the window and sat herself down on the bed, meeting Jun's gaze with her eerie amber coloured eyes. "Why are you talking to me?" she asked.

Jun shrugged. "Is there any reason why I shouldn't?"

Barasuishou seemed to think about it for a moment. "Yes. I killed Shinku. In front of you. Right after you had convinced her to spare my life. You should hate me for that."

Her bluntness caught him off guard, but he recovered quickly enough. "Well I don't."

"Why not?"

"Because ... I understand why you did it. You dolls, you're all so obsessed with pleasing your fathers, you'd do anything to make them happy, even kill each other," he shook his head, "I don't get that. Heck, Suiseiseki might be a giant pain sometimes, but at least she puts her own feelings first. You could learn something from her. I suppose if I asked you what you wanted, you'd say that you want to become Alice, or find your father so you can make him happy. Something like that."

The doll bowed her head and stared at her own hands, which she clenched and unclenched. She slowly shook her head from side to side. "No. My father is gone, and I cannot become Alice. I do not understand why Master Rozen brought me back. I serve no purpose now."

Jun clenched his teeth for a moment and then snorted. "How about serving your own purpose for a change. Do something for yourself."

Barasuishou looked up at him. "What would I do?"

Jun shrugged. "Whatever you want. That's kinda the whole point. Find something to do that makes you happy. Preferably something that doesn't involve killing people."

"How do you know what to do?"

"I don't. I have to figure it out as I go along. Right now though, I think I'd like to go downstairs, get something to eat and watch the Kunkun show," Jun removed his hands from his pockets and stood to one side of the doorway, gesturing, "Wanna come with?"

* * *

Kunkun had already begun by the time they entered the front room. Jun grabbed some snacks from the fridge and sat at the kitchen table, Barasuishou sitting on the chair next to him. The other dolls were too preoccupied with watching the show to notice either of them. Jun took a moment to clean his glasses so he could see better, whilst Barasuishou bit down on a chocolate stick and then looked at it as if she'd never seen food before.

"Ohh, I bet it was that crazy cat!" said Suiseiseki, pointing at the screen, "He's just so sleazy it has to be him!"

"I am certain Kunkun will uncover the culprit without delay," said Shinku. Barasuishou peered at the screen.

"Is it not obvious? The killer must be Mister Kitsune."

A deadening silence descended upon the room, filled only with the sound of the Kunkun show in the background. As one, the three dolls stood up on the couch and stared across the room towards Barasuishou. Jun could have cut the tension with a knife. Barasuishou looked back and forth between them all, her face reddening suddenly.

"It surely must be, if you consider the facts," she explained, "Mister Kitsune is the only suspect to have an iron clad alibi, which is inherently suspicious since it implies that he knew he would need an alibi for the time of the murder. Kunkun said that the victim was blackmailing someone, and Mister Kitsune's past is shrouded in secrecy, suggesting that he has something to hide. If you accept that his alibi was false, a likely hypothesis since it was provided by his fiancé, then he could easily have had the opportunity to do the deed and recover the incriminating evidence."

The Rozen Maiden dolls continued to stare at her. Suddenly the music on the television swelled to a dramatic crescendo as the camera focused on Detective Kunkun.

"The culprit is none other than Mister Kitsune!" the dog detective declared boldly. There was a hushed gasp, followed by an angry shriek from the fingered fox.

"Curse you, Kunkun! However did you know?"

They all watched as Kunkun recounted his deductions, almost word for word the same as those made by Barasuishou. Even Jun was impressed, and he wasn't obsessed with the puppet show as the dolls were. The credits began to roll and Suiseiseki turned to Shinku in stunned amazement.

"She ... she solved the case before Kunkun did! I so don't believe it!"

Kanaria rubbed the side of her head as if she'd just been struck. "Oh, wow. Maybe Kana isn't the brainiest after all ..."

Barasuishou looked vaguely embarrassed and tried to cover it up by staring at her lap as she crunched down on the remainder of her snack. Before anyone could say anything further, the telephone rang. Groaning, Jun got up and answered it, wondering who in the heck would call at the weekend. It was Mitsu, Kanaria's medium.

"Jun? Oh thank goodness I got you!"

"Hey Miss Kusabue, are you back already?"

Kanaria glanced across at Jun at the mention of her master's name. "Micchan?"

"Listen, Jun, I'm in a bit of a pickle here. I'm supposed to do this fashion shoot today, but both my models called in sick," Mitsu explained, "I _have_ to get the shoot done by the end of today or I'm going to be in trouble. I just need a couple of teenage girls to help me out for a few hours. Do you know anyone that might be willing?"

A fashion shoot? At the weekend? Jun scratched his head, thinking. "Well I'm afraid my sister is out. She's busy at some lacrosse tournament and wont be back until tonight. Sorry."

Mitsu wailed over the phone. Man, talk about a high maintenance job, thought Jun. "Wait a second, maybe Tomoe would be able to help," he offered.

"Really? Oh Junjun, that would be great!"

"I'll give her a call and see if she's free. She might have a friend she can bring as well."

He jotted down the address she gave him and then called the Kashiwaba residence. Tomoe had given him her number and said he should call if he ever needed anything. She'd presumably meant help with schoolwork, although Nori had been quick to tease him about that. She answered on the third ring.

"Jun?"

"Tomoe, hi, I was just wondering if you were free today?" he asked. When he heard himself say the words out loud he blushed, and was glad she couldn't see him.

"Sure, what do you need?"

He explained about the fashion shoot and asked if she'd be willing to help Mitsu out. He wasn't really expecting her to say yes, but to his surprise she seemed quite keen on the idea.

"That sounds like fun. Sure I'll help out."

"Great, she'll be so relieved to hear that."

"The only thing is ... I don't really know anyone else who's free today. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it, just head on over. Maybe she'll have found another by the time you get there."

There was an awkward moment of silence. Jun was about to say goodbye and hang up when Tomoe spoke first.

"Jun ... why don't you come along as well?" she said.

He balked. Him? Come along? ... to a fashion shoot? He swallowed. "I ... well it's-"

"I heard from some of the girls at school that you used to be interested in fashion and dresses," Tomoe continued, prompting Jun to turn a bright shade of scarlet. _Needleboy_. That's what they'd called him. He was _really_ glad she couldn't see him. "Besides," she added, "the company would be nice."

"Company? You mean my company?"

"Well of course, Jun."

"I ... uh ... okay, I guess. I'll see you there then."

"See you."

Finally the phone call ended. Jun put the receiver down and clapped his hands over his face, certain that it was melting into wax and running away. Then he felt four pairs of eyes staring at his back, and turned to find everyone watching him. He swallowed again.

"I gotta go out for a while ..."


	6. EP2: Dress Up

Oh, hey, another part already. Stupid addictive Rozen Maiden ... anyway, nothing terribly exciting happens here, this was mostly just a silly chapter I wrote for fun and to set up the next part. Next chapter, Suigintou rears her pretty head and gets annoyed at how utterly stupid everyone is.

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE 2

Dress Up

* * *

Suiseiseki followed Shinku's movements with her mismatching eyes. She had been pacing back and forth for quite a while now. If she kept it up she'd likely wear a hole in the carpet. Shinku had been in a touchy mood ever since Jun had left, and Suiseiseki was finally starting to figure out why.

"You know Shinku, I'm sure everything will be fine," she said cautiously, "The puny runt is far too shy around girls to try anything with that Tomoe. He'd probably pass out with a nosebleed if she so much as fluttered her eyelashes at him."

Shinku stopped pacing and glared at Suiseiseki, prompting her to shrink back. "I haven't the faintest idea _what_ you are talking about."

Suiseiseki sighed. "Oh come on Shinku, it's pretty obvious. You're jealous."

Shinku's mouth hung open in shock. "I am _not_ jealous."

"Oh, you so are! I should know, I used to feel the same way seeing you and Jun together. It still bothers me sometimes."

Shinku resumed pacing. "Really now Suiseiseki, sometimes you say the strangest things. What Jun chooses to do with his time is of no concern to me. I am simply irked that my servant is not here to make the tea. That is all."

Suiseiseki watched her for a while longer before speaking again. "You think I don't know what you're going through, Shinku? You're in love with Jun but you're worried there's someone he loves more than you. It was the same with Souseiseki and me."

Shinku stopped pacing but did not face her. She pressed on. "I loved ... I _love_ Souseiseki more than anything, more than anyone. Even more than father. I didn't care about anything but being together with her ..." she hung her head, recalling the painful memories of her last conversation with her twin. "And when I finally told her how much she meant to me, she pushed me away. She ... she even threatened to fight me if I stood in her way!" Suiseiseki winced, "All because she loved father more than me. Because ... he meant more to her than I did. Part of me wants her back, so I can be with her. But ... another part of me never wants to see her again, because I know that she doesn't love me the same way I love her," she looked up at Shinku now, a determined glint in her eye, "You're afraid it'll be the same with you and Jun, aren't you? You're worried that if you tell him how you really feel he'll push you away, because maybe he loves that Tomoe girl more than you."

Shinku still did not face her. She stared fixedly at the wall. "And what if I am? Did it not break your heart when Souseiseki rejected you?"

They were interrupted by Kanaria, who entered the room with her backpack on and her case in hand. She smiled cheerfully. "Well ladies, it's time for Kana to go. It's been fun, y'know? Maybe you could come and stay with Micchan and me sometime."

Suiseiseki and Shinku regarded her for a moment, then looked at each other. Suiseiseki had a sneaking feeling what was coming next.

"What a splendid idea," said Shinku, "We should leave at once."

Kanaria started with surprise, completely taken aback. "W-what? You mean, like, now?"

"Of course," said Shinku as she strode past Suiseiseki, "If we hurry perhaps we will be able to join Miss Kusabue for the photo shoot ..."

* * *

"Oh, thank you Junjun! You're a lifesaver!" Mitsu extended her arms and looked as if she were about to glomp him. He stepped back and held his palms up defensively.

"No hugging!"

She stopped, seemingly disappointed for a moment, but her smile quickly returned. Beside him, Tomoe giggled, a rarity for her. The studio was all set up with several different backgrounds and a host of camera equipment. There was no one else present however, a fact that Mitsu noticed as well.

"Weren't you able to find anyone else?" she asked, concerned. Jun shook his head.

"Sorry. Can't you manage with just one model?"

She raised a finger to her mouth, thinking. "I really need at least two people for the shoot, but no one else I know would do for this ..." her shoulders slumped. "Oh dear."

Jun wracked his brains for a possible solution, but the only person he knew besides Tomoe who could do the job was his sister, and there was no way she'd ditch her game today. She'd been practicing for weeks. Tomoe regarded Jun with her usual passive expression.

"Jun, I have an idea ..." she said. Jun and Mitsu looked to her hopefully, prompting her to elaborate. "Why don't you do it?"

Mitsu's eyes widened at the prospect, whilst Jun simply stared at her, not sure what she meant. "Huh?"

"She's right!" Mitsu stood in front of Jun and leaned down a little so her face was level with his as she examined him closely. "It could work. If we took away the glasses, added some extensions to your hair ... a little makeup ..."

Finally the meaning behind Tomoe's suggestion filtered through into his mind, whereupon it triggered a flood of icy panic. Jun held his hands up to ward off her intense scrutiny, his own eyes widening in shock.

"Are you kidding me? No way! I'm not dressing up as a girl!"

Mitsu stood upright and clasped her hands together tightly. "Oh please Junjun! It'd really mean a lot!"

He shook his head emphatically. "Forget it! There's no way I could pass for a girl, anyway. I'd just look stupid."

"You wouldn't," said Tomoe quietly, "I think with a little effort you'd look like a very pretty girl."

Jun couldn't believe what he was hearing. His face burned just thinking about it. He knew coming here was a bad idea. Did they seriously expect him to dress up and have pictures taken? If people at school found out, he'd never live it down. He'd crawl into bed and die of embarrassment.

"Ohh, please!" Mitsu pleaded, bouncing up and down nervously, "I'm really stuck here, Jun. If you did this I'd really owe you one."

Jun gaped at her, then at Tomoe. Oh dammit ... he planted his face in his hands and groaned loudly. "Fine! I know I'm gonna regret this, but I'll do it."

Mitsu squealed with delight and clapped her hands together. "Wonderful!" She grabbed his arm and led him through the studio towards a doorway. "Now, let's get you made up ..."

* * *

Half an hour later Jun wilted in intense embarrassment in front of the dressing room mirror. Yes, they'd both done a very good job on him. That was the problem. He had hoped that he'd look ridiculous and they'd call the entire stupid idea off. But no. Seeing himself, he was forced to admit that he just might be able to pass as a girl after all. Even the clothes that Mitsu was doing the shoot for fit him perfectly, which was just _weird_. He tried not to dwell on it.

"Well Jun, what do you think?" Tomoe asked, leaning over his shoulder. He hid his face behind his hands again and whimpered.

"Please just kill me."

"It's not that bad you know. I think this look suits you," she said earnestly. Jun blushed deeply.

"Is that supposed to be a complement?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

"So how are my two little stars?" Mitsu gushed, appearing at the doorway and showing enough enthusiasm to power a city. "Are we set?"

"No," said Jun seriously, standing up and trying not to look down at himself, "I just suddenly remembered I left the oven on back home."

"Ohhh, you look so _cute!_" Mitsu squee'd, clutching her face with her hands and wincing with delight. This prompted Tomoe to giggle again and Jun to grimace in despair.

"Can we please just get this over with?"

They followed her back out into the studio and over to one of the background screens, Jun staring at the ground directly in front of him and trying not to think too much about what he was actually doing. Mitsu positioned herself behind one of the camera tripods and gave them the thumbs up.

"Great! Oh one more thing Jun, some of your friends showed up at my place before I left. I brought them along to watch. I hope that's okay."

Jun blinked and looked up, wondering what the heck she meant. It didn't take him long to notice the three director style chairs several feet behind Mitsu and her equipment. They were occupied. By dolls. Jun's expression became one of abject horror as he met the wide-eyed gaze of Kanaria, Suiseiseki and Shinku. He lifted a shaking hand and pointed at them accusingly, as if he could force them to vanish out of sheer denial.

"W-what ... what the heck are they doing here!"

Suiseiseki gaped. "Hey! Isn't that girl ... isn't that ... Jun?"

Shinku seemed equally as confused. She leaned forwards in her chair. "Why I do believe it is. Oh my."

Only Kanaria seemed unfazed. She was so used to Micchan dressing her and everyone else up, that seeing Jun with shoulder-length hair and wearing the latest girls fashion was the most normal thing in the world to her. She sat in silence, sipping juice with a straw.

"Hi guys," Tomoe waved to the dolls. Jun felt like a snowman being attacked by a flamethrower. Various words and exclamations failed to escape from his throat. Suiseiseki however managed to articulate her words just fine. She stood up on her chair and pointed right back at him.

"I so don't believe this! You ... you great big pervert, you!"

"Hey!" Mitsu rounded on the doll, "Do you mind? He's doing me a favour here!"

Suiseiseki stared at her in frank astonishment. "Say what?"

Shinku leaned back in her chair and cupped her chin with her hands, smirking. "I think Jun looks rather fetching, actually."

"You do?" Suiseiseki gaped at her. Jun blinked in surprise.

"You do?" He parroted.

"Yes. In fact I think I shall have him dress this way all the time. It makes him more bearable to look at."

Jun's embarrassment turned to hot anger, and he clenched his hands into fists and snarled. "Like hell!"

Tomoe actually laughed a little and raised a hand to her mouth. "See Jun, I told you."

After a while they all settled down and Mitsu got to work. Protesting frequently, Jun followed her instructions on how to stand and pose, all the while being subjected to Suiseiseki's verbal barbs and mocking laughter. They stopped every so often for Jun and Tomoe to change into the next outfits Mitsu laid out for them. At some point however Jun actually started having fun, and found himself laughing as well.

The shoot went on for a couple of hours. They took a break halfway through to eat, drink and change once again. Mitsu stopped to check through what she had so far, and Jun took the opportunity to sink into a vacant chair and adjust the socks he was wearing. Shinku approached him.

"Well Jun, you certainly seem to be enjoying yourself."

"Not really," he lied, "I bet I look pretty stupid, huh?"

"Not at all," insisted Shinku, "In fact I was just thinking that you have been carrying yourself with an air of elegance I did not believe you capable of."

Jun blushed at her comment and smiled, bemused. "Well I've had plenty of opportunity to watch the way you move, Shinku. If I have any airs it's only because I've been copying you."

This surprised Shinku, who fell silent. Suiseiseki filled the vacuum with her loud presence. She strode up and stopped before Jun, her hands on her hips. "If it isn't our very own puny four-eyed geek boy," she said brightly, "Looking marginally less puny and four-eyed, though still every bit the geek. You should so be ashamed right now. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Jun glowered at her. "We need to get Hinaichigo back, if only so you will stop annoying everyone else so much."

Suiseiseki seemed surprised. "You know he's right; I actually miss that puny Ichigo. It's just so much less fun without her around to mock and torment relentlessly."

"I can't believe you just stood there and admitted what an evil little monster you are," said Jun, "You need help."

Suiseiseki chuckled. "Oh really? This coming from the boy dressed as a girl posing for pictures!" She seemed thoughtful for a moment, and Jun could see the deviousness brewing behind her demonic eyes. "You know what? We should get a copy of those pictures from that crazy Mitsu lady. We could use them to blackmail Jun into doing whatever we wanted!"

Shinku merely sighed at her sisters antics, but Jun was livid. "Why you-" he started, reaching out to grab the rotten little doll, when he was interrupted by Tomoe.

"Hey Jun, she's ready."

He grumbled and got up, pointedly ignoring Suiseiseki as she waved to him and grinned in a very sinister fashion. Shinku watched them go, and noticed that Tomoe was holding Jun's arm in a tender fashion. This brought a sharp, painful pang deep inside her that made her wince. Suiseiseki saw as well, and saw her reaction. She moved over to her sisters side.

"Don't read anything into it," she tried to reassure Shinku, "After all, how much can she like him if she prefers to see him dressed up as a girl?"

Shinku wasn't so sure. All she knew was that everything Suiseiseki had said to her earlier was true, and she was afraid to tell Jun how she felt. Today did nothing to put those fears to rest.

* * *

Within the N-Field lay a glittering cavern of wrought crystal, in varying hues of pink and white. In the centre of the cavern Kirakishou floated above the ground, surrounded by flat, glossy crystal shards, each displaying images from the real world. The seventh doll focused on images of Shinku, who looked saddened, and of Jun and Tomoe. Kirakishou grinned.

"Poor Jun, his heart pulls him in two different directions and he doesn't know where to turn," she said, evidently relishing this conflict, "I shall have to help him make up his mind ..." she raised a hand and called out; "Lempicka!" summoning the artificial spirit, which floated serenely in the air around her. Whilst it was true that she did not have the Rosa Mystica that this spirit belonged to, she had managed to acquire the precious little wisp from that obtuse rabbit. She tilted her head as she regarded it.

"We have work to do little one," she said soothingly. She turned and stared at one of the crystal shards displaying an image of Tomoe, her grin widening. "I have something special in mind for this one ..."


	7. EP2: Angel Delight

Very long chapter here, and I was quite tired when I wrote it, so sorry if it's not great. The next chapter should (in theory) be the last part of Episode 2. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

**

* * *

**

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE 2

Angel Delight

* * *

When Jun had finished brushing his teeth and getting washed, he sauntered into the front room to find that, once again, he was the last person up. In the past he was normally awakened by the dolls antics, however with Hinaichigo gone there seemed to be fewer such troubles to rock him out of bed in the mornings.

"Morning," he mumbled, still feeling vaguely numb and half-asleep.

"Good morning," they all droned back.

"So the great big sleepy head has finally decided to grace us with his presence," said Suiseiseki, "Maybe you'd care to go one further and explain what _she_ is doing here," she added, pointedly glaring across the table at Barasuishou. Jun dropped himself into the vacant chair beside the offending doll in question and shot Suiseiseki and irate look.

"I'm taking care of her, just like your father asked me to," he said with just a hint of snark, "If you have a problem with that, feel free to take it up with him."

"Hmph!" she huffed and bit into her toast, not satisfied. Shinku took a sip of her tea and carefully set the tiny cup down, her expression one of restrained distaste.

"Nori, I am aware that your tea making skills leave much to be desired, but this really is quite dreadful, even for you," she said.

"Oh, I'm sorry Shinku, but these pictures ... they're so cute!" Nori gushed, flipping through a thick bundle of snapshots as her own tea remained untouched. Jun eyed the pictures suspiciously.

"Please tell me those aren't what I think they are," he said, though he strongly suspected they were. Sure enough Nori was holding copies of the pictures Mitsu had taken yesterday, and judging by her expression she was about ready to glomp her little brother.

"Jun-kun, why didn't you tell me you did things like this?" Nori asked, holding one of the pictures up for Jun to see. He tried to ignore it. Seeing himself in a short skirt and thigh-length socks made his head go all funny.

"I _don't_ do things like this," he insisted whilst scraping jam onto his own toast, "I just did it once, as a favour for Mitsu. Can we please stop making a big deal about it?"

Barasuishou took one of the pictures from a second bundle resting on the table and stared at it. Her eyebrows went up a notch. "This is you? You look ..."

"Adorable!" Nori finished for her, "Hey Jun, if you ever want to borrow any of my clothes you only have to ask."

Jun dropped his toast and gaped at his sister in astonishment. "What? Why the heck would I want to do something like that?"

Nori gathered up the pictures with a sly grin. "Well you know, there are some boys that feel like they're really a girl on the inside ..."

"I am not a girl!" Jun yelled, slapping his hands down on the table for emphasis. Suiseiseki chuckled.

"It sounds to me like the puny human is in denial. He so totally needs to do some soul searching and admit that he has a problem."

Jun had to resist the overwhelming urge to throw his breakfast at the fiendish little doll. He leaned forwards instead and glared at her with as much menace as he could muster. "The only problem around here is you, you rotten evil little-"

"Hey! Less of your sass today runt!" she snapped back, "Or I'll sneak into your school and pin these pictures up for all to see!"

That stopped him dead in his tracks, and he immediately turned blue with shock. Shinku meanwhile sighed and pushed her tea away. "Nori, please make another pot of tea, and this time endeavour to concentrate."

As Nori collected the cups and set about doing as instructed, Barasuishou watched the exchange between Jun and Suiseiseki. "Is it always like this?" she wondered aloud. Shinku regarded her for a moment.

"Regretably, yes."

Barasuishou turned her attention on the fifth Rozen Maiden, who had up until now been ignoring her entirely. Somehow that was even worse than the outright hostility she was recieving from Suiseiseki. Of all the places she could think to be after being restored by Master Rozen, this was the last - surrounded by the very dolls she had killed. She was actually surprised one of them hadn't tried to exact revenge yet. At least Kanaria had returned to her eccentric Medium, relieved to be away from 'BaraBara'.

"Shinku ..."

"Yes?"

Shinku sat quietly with her hands in her lap, watching her expectantly. It was unusual given her complete indifference the past few days. Barasuishou felt a surge of guilt looking into her serenely blue eyes and found herself turning away, unable to keep eye contact. She wished she still had her eyepatch. Without it, more and more of her feelings were rising to the surface, and some of them were distinctly unpleasant.

"Nothing," she said.

Jun and Suiseiseki's squabbling was interrupted by the phone ringing. "I'll get it!" said Nori, still busy preparing the tea. Jun returned to his toast and tore at it with his teeth as if he had a personal grudge against the thing. Could this weekend get any worse?

"What?" said Nori, still talking into the phone. Jun watched her, frowning. Who could it be now? "Oh no! That's terrible! ... yes, I'll let him know. Goodbye." she hung up and stood there, not moving a muscle.

"Nori? What was that?" Jun asked, feeling deeply uneasy in the pit of his stomach. Her tone had been very worrying. Nori returned to the table and sat down, looking vaguely shell shocked. She ran a hand through her hair in an almost distracted way.

"That was Mrs Kashiwaba," she said, her voice quavering slightly, "Tomoe's been taken to hospital."

Jun felt as if he'd just been punched in the gut. His glasses slipped down the bridge of his nose and his mouth hung open. "W-what? What happened?"

* * *

Megu sat up in her hospital bed, studying the chessboard in front of her intently. She was currently in the middle of a game, though her opponent had temporarily left for reasons known only to her, leaving Megu a fair amount of time to carefully consider her next move. She was playing white, whilst her angel was playing red. She could certainly use the time to think, as she'd already lost a Bishop and a Rook. Her Queen looked to be in danger too.

As she was busy trying to formulate some kind of defence to protect her Queen, there was a bit of a commotion at the door. She looked up from the board and noticed a pair of nurses wheeling a hospital bed into the room. The bed was occupied by a young girl who appeared to be sleeping.

"Well dear, looks like you're going to have some company for a while," said one of the nurses, "We're a little full up at the moment, so this poor girl will have to stay with you."

"That's okay, I don't mind," said Megu earnestly, "What's wrong with her?"

They finished positioning the bed and another nurse appeared with a trolley of monitoring equipment. The nurse that had been speaking to her turned and shrugged helplessly.

"Nobody knows. She just went to sleep and didn't wake up. The doctors are stumped."

Megu regarded her silent new roommate. She was pretty, probably in school judging by her age, and seemed otherwise perfectly normal. There was no sign of any injuries or marks on her, indeed she looked quite peaceful. "What's her name?"

"Tomoe Kashiwaba. Oh, what's this?" The nurse noticed the small folding table on Megu's bed with the chess set. She leaned over and peered at the board. "Who are you playing with?"

Megu smiled and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "The black angel. She's very good, she's already won three games against me, and I'm afraid I might lose this one as well. I'm learning a lot though."

The nurse smiled oddly at her and stood upright. "That's ... that's nice dear. I'll be back later with something to eat. You will try and eat something today?"

Megu nodded and returned her attention back to the chessboard. The nurse left, wondering if she was really starting to loose her sanity. Megu knew they thought she was a little crazy for believing in angels, but she didn't mind. After five minutes careful consideration, she used one of her knights to threaten her opponents Queen, hoping that would allow her to move her own to a better position the following move.

It was afternoon by the time Suigintou returned. She stood at the open window and stared across at the room's new occupant, frowning.

"You don't have to worry about her," said Megu, "I think she's in some kind of coma. She hasn't moved or said a word since they brought her here."

Suigintou perched herself on the side of Megu's bed and glanced over at Tomoe. There was a jar full of vibrant flowers on the table beside her. Megu noticed her looking and regarded them as well. "They're lilies. Her parents brought them in earlier. I think they're very pretty."

Suigintou said nothing, though there was something vaguely familiar about that girl. She felt as if she'd seen her before somewhere, though she couldn't quite recall where. It bothered her, because her memory was normally perfect. Pushing that matter from her mind, she turned her attention instead to the chess game. A hint of a smile appeared on her face. "You're getting better. You remembered what I said about keeping on the offensive."

Megu plucked one of the Knights from the board and held it aloft, turning it this way and that. "These are really useful. I was just thinking how nice it'd be to have a white Knight swoop in and save the day."

Suigintou snorted derisively. "I much prefer Queens. They're by far the most powerful."

Megu held the Knight piece out towards Suigintou. "But the Knight has a trick the Queen doesn't - he can pass over other pieces. No one else can do that, not even the Queen."

Suigintou took the piece from her and regarded it in a dismissive, arrogant fashion. "Yes, yes, but that's his only trick, making this-" she placed the Knight back on the board, "-a one trick pony. Now, I believe it is my move ..." she released the Knight and took her Queen, moving it across the board to take another of Megu's pieces. "Check," she said, removing one of the white Pawns.

Megu smiled and closed her eyes. "You're very good at chess, Miss Angel."

"Well of course I am," Suigintou boasted unabashedly, "I excel at all my endeavours."

"You!" a voice suddenly cried out. Suigintou started with surprise and jerked her head around to see that someone was standing in the doorway. It was Shinku's insufferable Medium. What was he doing here?

"Umm, hello?" said Megu. Jun ignored her, advancing into the room with his eyes narrowed dangerously at Suigintou. The doll floated up into the air so that she was level with his face, her own expression contorting with anger.

"The Medium. I might have known."

Jun glanced around and saw Tomoe, causing a sick swooping sensation to gnaw at his insides. He turned back to Suigintou, his face red with anger. "Did you do this to her? Whatever you did, undo it right now!"

Suigintou curled her hands into tiny fists as the wings on her back started to expand. "I have no idea what you're blabbering about this time, but if Shinku sent you to find me then you can go right back and tell her to come and face me herself!"

Megu looked from one to the other, not following their conversation at all. She did at least pick up on one detail. "You two know each other, then?"

Jun tore his gaze away from Suigintou and finally noticed Megu. He also noticed the rose ring on her finger as well, which caught him off guard. "You ..." he looked back at Suigintou, "You have a Medium?"

Suigintou floated sideways, putting herself protectively between Jun and Megu. There was a dangerous glint in her violet eyes that managed to cut through Jun's anger and warned him to back down. "You have five seconds to explain why you're here," she said coldly. Jun blinked and looked across at the unconscious form of Tomoe. Suigintou noticed and did the same. "Her? You're here for her?"

"I got a call that she'd been taken to hospital, so I came to visit her and find out what happened," Jun explained, his anger starting to drain away a little as he realised that Suigintou might not be involved despite her presence here.

Suigintou's expression softened a little and her eyes clouded with sudden confusion. "I thought ..."

Jun moved to Tomoe's side, trying his best to keep a lid on his churning emotions. He felt weak seeing her lying there, seemingly asleep. Both Suigintou and Megu watched him. Both observed the sadness in his face. Jun looked up at them suddenly.

"You didn't do this then?" he demanded. Suigintou shook her head and floated down onto Megu's bed.

"No. Why would I? I have no idea who she even is."

Jun looked away, his eyes starting to blur with tears. He tried to will them away. "She's ... a friend."

Megu cleared her throat. "I'm Megu Kakizaki, pleased to meet you," she said. Jun removed his glasses and drew his sleeve across his face, wiping his eyes dry before any tears could start to fall. Suigintou decided to introduce him and save him the trouble.

"This is Sakurada," she said with a sigh, "Jun Sakurada. And I must say Jun, I'm surprised to see you out. There was a time when you couldn't even walk to the front door of your house without having a panic attack ..." she treated him to a sardonic smirk, "I would complement you on your newfound strength of character, had I not just witnessed you on the verge of tears over a sick girl."

"Suigintou, that's not very nice," Megu chided, "I'm sorry Mr Sakurada, she didn't mean it that way."

Jun was fairly certain that she did, but he didn't say as much. This girl obviously didn't know Suigintou all that well. He walked over to her bedside and nervously extended a hand, all the while enjoying Suigintou's acidic gaze.

"Sorry to barge into your room like that," he said. Megu shook his hand weakly and smiled.

"That's okay. To be honest it's nice to finally meet someone else who knows Miss Angel."

Jun's eyebrows shot up and he glanced sideways at Suigintou, who tried to hide a sudden guilty look. "Miss Angel?"

"Yes," said Megu, "She's my angel of death. She's supposed to take my life away, but she keeps refusing to. I guess you could say that she's not a very good angel of death."

Jun struggled to keep a carefully neutral expression on his face. "Oh, you'd be surprised ..." he said, to which Suigintou snorted and turned away.

"So how do you know her?"

"Who, Suigintou?" Jun hesitated, wondering how much he should say. Suigintou saved him the trouble and answered first.

"This boy is Shinku's Medium," she said shortly, "Though just what my sister saw in him I'll never know."

"Suigintou!" Megu nudged the doll, appalled by her ill manners. Jun reached up and rubbed his head absent-mindedly.

"Don't worry about it, I sometimes wonder the same thing myself," he admitted, drawing a surprised look from Suigintou in the process. Jun searched around for a chair and, finding one, dragged it over to Tomoe's bedside before sitting himself down. The rooms other occupants watched him closely.

"You must be very good friends," observed Megu, "to come and visit her."

"I guess."

"Is she your girlfriend?"

Jun felt a sharp pang to hear the question asked. He didn't really have an answer. He'd been mistaken for her boyfriend in the past, yet Tomoe had insisted he was just a friend. Still, they'd grown closer over the last month or so, ever since he'd returned to school. Whether that was because she wanted to help him out, or because she actually cared for him, he couldn't really say. Tomoe wasn't exactly the most expressive of people. And as for his own feelings ... he wouldn't even know where to begin. He opened his mouth to answer, but no words occurred to him, so he said nothing.

"Well I suppose the least I can do is have a look," said Suigintou, startling Jun as she was standing right next to him. He stared at her in bewilderment.

"What?"

Suigintou folded her arms and regarded him with what he thought looked suspiciously like sympathy. "It's simple - I have a chess match to finish with my Medium. I can't very well concentrate with you moping around here all day, so I might as well open a doorway into this girls dreams and see what's wrong with her."

Jun didn't even know where to start with that. He eventually settled on; "Wait ... are you offering to _help?_"

"Well don't sound so surprised. I'm not completely heartless you know."

"I ..." Jun looked at Tomoe and wondered if he should accept Suigintou's offer. On the one hand he knew he wouldn't want anyone barging into his dreams without asking - he'd had it happen to himself often enough to know how embarrassing it could be. But if there was any way this could help her, how could he refuse? "Can you do that? I thought you needed the Gardeners artificial spirits."

Suigintou extended a delicate hand and summoned her own artificial spirit, Meimei. It bobbed about, glowing brightly. "Meimei here picked up the trick from Lempicka and Sui Dream. I can manage just fine. Well?"

He couldn't refuse. There was just too much doll-related weirdness in his life for him not to at least try this. If there was even a chance that Tomoe's condition was caused by something supernatural, this would be the easiest way to find out.

"Do it."

* * *

Whiteness. Endless, empty whiteness as far as the eye could see. No sky, no ground, no walls, no anything. A complete void. They were inside Tomoe's dream world, and this was all they found.

Nothing.

"Well this looks familiar ..." said Suigintou. Jun nodded. He had seen this before - inside the mind of Shibasaki, who had fallen into a coma after a tragic car accident that had claimed her sons life. What did it mean for Tomoe though?

"So you came."

Jun and Suigintou looked at each other. Neither of them had spoken, and the voice sounded eerily familiar to Jun. Together they turned and found themselves face to face with Kirakishou. She almost blended in with the empty whiteness of the place.

"Who are you?" Suigintou asked. Kirakishou's one eye widened with delight and she clapped her hands together, apparently thrilled.

"Suigintou! Well this is a surprise. I thought he'd bring that noisy Suiseiseki for sure ..." she suddenly appeared next to Suigintou and clasped her sisters hands in her own. "We've never met, but I have always held you in the highest regard."

Suigintou pulled her hands free and took a step back. "How nice. I have an admirer. How about giving me your name?"

"Her name is Kirakishou," said Jun, "And she's the real seventh doll. Or so she claims."

"I _am_ the seventh Rozen Maiden doll. Here-" She reached forwards and grabbed Suigintou's arm, pulling it towards her and forcing Suigintou's hand against her chest, "Can you not sense it? My Rosa Mystica. It calls to you."

Suigintou frowned. She _could_ feel it. She yanked her hand away. "It's true. Does this mean then ... does father wish the Alice game to begin again?" she asked, a little uncertain. Kirakishou sneered.

"I am not here to play the Alice game. I have no need of it. I can become Alice without playing."

Suigintou's eyes widened in astonishment. "How?"

"Because I'm special. Like you. You are the first, I the last. We are the greatest Rozen Maiden. Different from the others. But enough of that ..." she turned to Jun and grinned in a deeply unsettling fashion. "You're here no doubt to find the cause of Miss Kashiwaba's affliction."

Jun clenched his hands, resisting the futile urge to attack her. "I already found it. First you used my sister, now you're trying to use Tomoe against me. Well you're wasting your time; Barasuishou wont give herself up to you, and it's no use trying to convince me."

Suigintou was utterly lost. "Barasuishou? But she's ..."

Kirakishou laughed, an unpleasant sound that sent shivers down his spine. "It's not Barasuishou I want. Not today. Convincing her to join me will take time, now that she's awake. For now I'm here to help you, Jun."

"Why do I find that hard to believe?"

Kirakishou floated up through the air towards him. He flinched as she came close, but didn't bother trying to run - there was nowhere to run to. He held his ground as she reached out and pressed her hand against his chest, just as she'd forced Suigintou to do moments before. Jun felt the warmth of her hand through the material of his shirt. She smiled in that odd way of hers.

"I feel it. Your heart. It beats in pain, torn by your love for the girl and your love for Shinku."

"Oh please ..." Suigintou rolled her eyes. Jun felt heat rising to his cheeks, despite being confronted by this demented doll. He couldn't voice any denials, because he knew she spoke the truth. He'd been trying not to think about it, but obviously Kirakishou had other plans.

She pulled her hand away from his chest and peered up into his eyes, her own eye the same deep golden-amber as Barasuishou's. He was treated to a look of mock sadness. "Poor Jun-kun. You can't even admit to yourself how deeply you care for Shinku. You wonder sometimes if she feels the same ... but then along comes Tomoe. Normal. Human. Kind. She shows an interest, and suddenly you have a much safer option. What's a boy to do?"

"What business is it of yours?" Jun snapped, taking a step away from her, "And why do you even care?"

"Of course I care. Such a talented boy. Such potential. You're special too, don't you know?"

"I think I've had quite enough of your inane meanderings," said Suigintou. She summoned her sword and pointed the tip at Kirakishou's back, "Why don't you save us all a lot of time and earache by simply undoing whatever you've done to this girl. Do that and I might just let you leave without taking your Rosa Mystica."

Jun saw Kirakishou smile, which was never a good sign. She vanished and reappeared behind Suigintou. Still smiling, she reached forwards and embraced her sister from behind, resting her chin upon Suigintou's shoulder and her hands around her waist.

"It's true then," she whispered into her ear, "Father made you whole when he brought you back. He always brings you back. He can't bear to see his precious Suigintou lying broken. I think he admires your strength. I know I do."

Suigintou unfurled her wings rapidly, creating a cloud of black feathers. As Kirakishou released her hold on her, she whirled around and thrust out with her sword. The seventh doll swayed to the side and caught the blade deftly with her hands. She giggled.

"Strong but impatient. Very well big sis, I'll get to the point," she touched the tip of the sword with her finger just as she said the word 'point'. Suigintou withdrew her weapon and Kirakishou floated into whatever passed for air in this place. She fixed her eye upon Jun. "My terms are simple Jun-kun; you must choose who you love greater. I have stolen Miss Kashiwaba's soul tree and hidden it away. I will return it ... but only in exchange for Shinku's Rosa Mystica. You have until midnight tonight to decide, after which I will destroy the girl's tree. The choice is yours."

With that ominous statement she glowed brightly and vanished altogether, leaving Jun and Suigintou alone with her ultimatum.


	8. EP2: First Kiss

Okay, this _was_ supposed to be the action-packed finale for episode two, but it didn't quite work out that way. It seems episode two will instead be a five part episode. I wanted to keep it four parts like episode one but I don't think that'll work. Sorry about that. My hopeless romantic side got the better of me.

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE 2

First Kiss

* * *

Jun was at the hospital visiting Tomoe. She was his friend. There was nothing wrong with that.

So why did it bother her so much?

Shinku had resorted to watching daytime television to try and distract herself from these thoughts. She flipped through the channels, trying to find the most mind-numbing programme being broadcast in the hopes that it might take her mind off things. Suiseiseki was right - she was jealous. Jealousy was hardly a trait worthy of a Rozen Maiden. How could she aspire to be Alice when she harboured such feelings?

She had told Nori that she was thinking of leaving. That was true. She _was_ thinking about it. In doing so she had discovered that the mere thought of parting permanently from Jun made her distraught to the point of wanting to weep. Another behaviour unbecoming of a Rozen Maiden. It was really starting to bother her. Jun was her Medium and her servant. In that regard he'd performed quite admirably, and proven himself to be capable of much more than she'd initially believed. At some point she'd started to care for him however, and at some further point those feelings had changed into something more.

More and more she wanted to know if Jun shared these feelings, but how could she find out? It wasn't as if she could simply ask him; he was hopeless at expressing his feelings properly, a fact not helped by her teasing him about such matters in the past. She'd joked with him about having feelings towards him before, and promptly mocked his reactions to such advances. Perhaps she could show more kindness and compassion towards him ... except that whenever she tried that she'd see him spending time with Tomoe and find herself treating him with cold contempt. If anything, her behaviour towards him these past few days had only served to irritate him more than usual. It felt as if she were competing with Tomoe for his affection, and if that crazy thought happened to be true, what chance did she really have?

_It's not like I'd get anything out of kissing a doll!_

Shinku lowered the remote control and winced at that particular memory. Perhaps she was being foolish about this whole affair. Perhaps ... her feelings towards Jun were a mistake, and she should consider concentrating on fulfilling father's wishes. She still had to restore Hinaichigo and Souseiseki, to say nothing of discovering the other ways of becoming Alice that father had hinted at.

Shinku was snapped out of her thoughts by the television. The image on the screen (a particularly eccentric advertisement) was distorting and bending, as if it were being warped. She frowned and watched as the screen seemed to bulge outwards for a moment. Then, and to her considerable astonishment, Jun shot out of the screen and landed at her feet, cursing.

"Ow! That hurt."

Shinku blinked and turned her attention back to the television in time to witness an even more surprising sight; Suigintou followed, albeit slower and with more grace. She landed lightly in front of the television and scowled at Jun as he rubbed his bruised elbow.

"I told you to hold on to me," she said.

"Well excuse me for being a little cautious," he shot back, "Dolls have a habit of hitting me whenever I touch them."

"Jun? Suigintou?" Shinku didn't know what to make of this scene. At the back of her mind a semblance of an idea occurred to her - after taking Suigintou's Rosa Mystica during the Alice game she had witnessed memories of a certain sick girl, confined to a hospital bed. Suigintou's Medium. It was not only possible but likely that in visiting Tomoe at the hospital, Jun had run into Suigintou as well. The question now was, what was Suigintou doing here?

"Well hello Shinku. Aren't you going to offer me any tea?" said Suigintou. She proceeded to wonder around the room as if surveying it, whilst Jun dropped himself into the nearest chair looking thoroughly miserable.

"Jun, what's wrong?" Shinku asked, "And what is Suigintou doing here?"

"Suigintou is here to see the look on your face when Jun explains," Suigintou answered for him, smirking a little. Jun clutched his hand to his head as if it were in pain.

"It was Kirakishou again," he explained reluctantly, "She's stolen Tomoe's soul tree and she's threatening to destroy it unless ... unless ..."

"Unless what?"

He didn't answer. He couldn't. Guilt was visible on his face for anyone to see. He groaned and covered his face with his hands to hide it, whilst Suigintou stopped exploring and regarded him as if he were the pathetic wretch he currently felt himself to be.

"He can't even bring himself to say it. Well I can't say I'm surprised ..." she strolled in front of Shinku with her arms crossed, showing a mixture of smugness and annoyance. "Our adorable little sister says she wants your Rosa Mystica Shinku."

Shinku was bewildered. She'd thought Kirakishou was after Barasuishou. So why? "My ... Rosa Mystica? For what reason?"

Suigintou directed her gaze at Jun. "Well Jun? Shall you tell her or shall I?"

"Jun?" Shinku fixed her blue eyes upon her Medium, demanding an explanation. Jun clenched his hands tightly and stared at the floor in front of him.

"She said I had to choose between you and Tomoe," he finally answered, the words coming out with as much ease as if he were pulling teeth. Suigintou scoffed.

"Apparently Jun here is in love with you Shinku," she said, filling in the information he was selectively omitting, "But he also has feelings for that Tomoe girl. Kirakishou intends to force him to choose which of you he loves most."

Shinku gasped. Jun ... loved her? But he had feelings for Tomoe as well. She could scarcely believe what she was hearing. She actually felt faint. The remote control slipped from her grasp and her eyes widened as she tried to deal with this sudden information. Suigintou meanwhile leaned forwards and peered at her intently.

"_That's_ the look I was waiting for," she said, sounding almost disappointed, "Hmm, for some reason it's not nearly as satisfying as I thought it would be."

"Jun ... is this true?" Shinku managed to whisper. Her Rosa Mystica burned brightly inside of her, becoming almost intolerable. A faint red blush appeared on her cheeks, whilst Jun was rapidly turning the same colour as her dress.

"Does it matter?" he said, still staring at the floor, "We have to think of something."

Suigintou snapped her head around and narrowed her eyes at him. "What is there to think about? There is no way Shinku is going to surrender her Rosa Mystica. Believe me, I know."

Shinku grabbed her dress and clutched it tightly, simply to have something to hold on to. It was true, then. Even though Jun cared for Tomoe, he _did_ have feelings for her. She didn't know why Kirakishou had decided to do such a thing, but she found herself wanting to know the same answer as the seventh doll did.

"That's not what I meant," said Jun, meeting Suigintou's glare with one of his own, "I'm not going to play her stupid game. I'm saying we need to find some way to save Tomoe's tree before that maniac destroys it."

"No," said Shinku, startling the other two, "If Jun wishes to make his choice, I will abide by it."

They both stared at her, aghast. "What?" said Suigintou, not quite believing her ears.

"If Jun wishes to save Tomoe, I will surrender my Rosa Mystica to Kirakishou," Shinku clarified. What frightened her was that she meant it. She really would give up her Rosa Mystica if Jun wanted. What had happened to her?

Jun faced her, his expression and body language angry. "To hell with that! There's no way I'd want you to give up your life like that!"

She knew he'd say that, but she also knew what he was going to say next. "If I don't, Tomoe will die."

"We'll find a way of saving her. There's no reason anyone has to die."

Yes. She'd known he would say that as well. It was just like the situation with Nori, earlier. Jun couldn't, _wouldn't_ make such a choice. Instead he'd insist on finding a third option. Shinku closed her eyes and bowed her head, relaxing the grip on her dress. "Jun, that may not be possible. I know you want to find another way, but there may not be one. Sooner or later you will have to face a choice that you cannot work around."

Jun threw himself back against his chair, his arms crossed defensively, almost sulking. "Forget it! There's always another way. If you can't find it then you're just not looking hard enough."

"As much as I hate to agree with him, he's right," said Suigintou, a little reluctantly, "There's no choice to be made here. You won't give up your Rosa Mystica because _I_ wont let you."

Shinku opened her eyes and regarded Suigintou sadly. And why wouldn't Suigintou allow her? Because she wanted Shinku's Rosa Mystica for herself? Or because ...

"Suigintou ..."

"What? If anyone is going to take your Rosa Mystica it is I," she said, though a flicker of doubt crossed her face. She turned away from Shinku slightly, trying to hide the concern she felt was showing in her eyes. "Besides, I ..."

"Yes?"

She flashed Shinku an annoyed glance. "I don't want to see you dead anymore than this idiot does. Okay? There. I said it."

Jun might have taken issue with being called an idiot if he weren't so surprised by her admission. He leaned forwards a little, curiosity getting the better of him. "Really? I always thought you hated Shinku."

She treated_ him_ to an annoyed glance as well, her teeth clenched, but said nothing. Her annoyance vanished completely when Shinku suddenly slipped off the couch and hugged her tightly.

"Oh, Suigintou!" Her voice was muffled by Suigintou's dress. The first Rozen Maiden doll was utterly shocked. She searched about, completely at a loss for what to do. When Shinku did not immediately let go of her, she recovered and gently wrapped her arms around her sister.

"You are such a fool, Shinku," she said softly. Jun thought for an instant that he saw her smile a little, but before he could be sure the two dolls separated. Shinku looked deeply into Suigintou's eyes, a single tear rolling down her warm cheek.

"I am ... sorry. For everything. Can you ever forgive me, Suigintou?"

Now she did smile, though for a change it was not a mocking or cruel smile. There was a sort of gentleness to it. She carefully brushed the tear from Shinku's face. "We'll see. For now though, I may have that third option for you ..."

* * *

Suigintou refused to go into details, saying only that they would need Suiseiseki. Jun found her upstairs, peeking into his bedroom. She was observing Barasuishou as one might observe a tiger or a particularly venomous snake. Barasuishou was sitting on Jun's bed quitely reading one of Shinku's books. He decided to leave her there - no need to provoke Suigintou given that she seemed to be willing to help out. He reached down and grabbed a hold of Suiseiseki, startling the doll.

"Hey! What's the big idea, put me down!" she flailed about. Jun scowled.

"Will you knock that off? I need your help for something," he said, adjusting his hold on her so that she was more comfortable. She settled down a little.

"Well all right then. You only have to ask, there's no need to go sneaking up on me like that."

The reason he had opted to carry her instead of simply asking her to come with him became immediately apparent when they entered the front room. Suiseiseki saw Suigintou and Jun had to act very fast to keep a hold of her. Her hands continued to stretch out towards Suigintou in a vain effort to grab her.

"Let go of me! I am so going to turn that worthless Suigintou into junk you hear!"

Suigintou turned her nose up at the noisy doll. "Dear me Suiseiseki, you're not _still_ holding a grudge against me for defeating Souseiseki in the Alice game, are you?"

"Calm down! She's here to help," Jun said, still struggling to keep a firm grip on her. She stopped thrashing about for a moment and gawped.

"She's what now?"

Suigintou floated up towards Suiseiseki but kept just out of reach. "You heard Jun. I have an idea for helping his sick girlfriend, but we're going to need you to pull it off."

Jun blushed a little and tried not to look at Shinku. "Tomoe is _not_ my girlfriend. Now are you gonna behave?" He addressed that last part to Suiseiseki, who had at least stopped trying to wriggle free. She clenched her hands tight and nodded, once. Jun carefully set her down on the ground and Suigintou floated down as well.

"There now, isn't that much better?" said Suigintou, "You really should watch that temper of yours-" she was cut off abruptly as Suiseiseki slapped her across the face. Suigintou raised a hand to her stinging cheek, momentarily surprised, whilst Suiseiseki's furious gaze bored into her.

"That was for Souseiseki," she said, her words etched with anger, "And believe me, if I weren't so sick of us fighting one another all the time I would _so_ beat you into a pulp, you wretched sorry excuse for a sister, you!"

Jun fully expected Suigintou to fly into a rage and attack, and indeed the idea seemed to cross her mind. It vanished, replaced with a look of haughty self-control. "I suppose I deserved that. I know how much Souseiseki meant to you," she lowered her voice and spoke with an added layer of menace, saying; "Strike me again though and I will teach you some respect, or do I need to remind you what Souseiseki did to me once upon a time?"

When everyone had calmed down, Suigintou told them to meet her back at the hospital tonight when it was quiet, adding that Suiseiseki should bring Sui Dream with her. Saying nothing further, she left the same way she arrived. Suiseiseki promptly stormed off in a huff, leaving Shinku and Jun alone together in nervous silence.

"Jun, will you tell me something?" Shinku asked eventually. Jun swallowed. He really didn't feel like talking right now, as he had a vague idea what she wanted to ask.

"What?"

"Although we are taking Suigintou's help to resolve this situation, I was wondering ... if you had to choose, as Kirakishou intended ..."

Who would he choose? Shinku or Tomoe? That was a rotten question and he'd sooner be in school right now, standing up in front of the entire classroom than answer it. He slumped down onto the ground in front of her, his eyes downcast.

"How can I possibly answer that? It's not a choice of who I care about the most, it's a question of who I'd let die. I don't want either of you to die."

Shinku moved closer to him, her face level with his. Jun tried not to look at her, but he felt her eyes burning into him. "Then tell me Jun," she spoke softly, each word stinging Jun's heart in dreaded anticipation of what would come next, "If our lives were not at stake. If neither of us had to die. Who would you choose?"

Jun shut his eyes. "Shinku ..."

When he opened them again she was gone. He heard Nori at the front door and heard her greeting Shinku. Jun sagged, his heart feeling as if it'd been squeezed to bursting point. He removed his glasses and rubbed at his eyes.

"You Shinku, I'd choose you," he whispered.

* * *

The hospital was dead quiet that night. It was still staffed but at least there were no visitors and most of the patients were sound asleep. Even Megu was out like a light, and did not wake when a boy and three dolls entered her room and started talking.

"This is her," said Shinku, "the girl I saw in your memories. Your Medium."

Suigintou scowled. "Only by accident. I don't need a Medium and to be perfectly honest she's been more of a hindrance than a help to me."

"And yet you care for her a great deal. I am glad you have found someone to be with."

Suigintou opened her mouth to snap off a remark but decided against it. It was no use lying to Shinku, not after she'd held her Rosa Mystica. She turned her attention instead to the soulless girl on the adjacent bed. Jun stood at Tomoe's side with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Okay Suigintou," he said, "Lets hear it then."

A mischievous smile returned to Suigintou's lips. It would be interesting to see his reaction. She almost felt like rubbing her hands together. "It's very simple," she explained, "You just have to kiss her."

Jun froze. Granted he wasn't moving much prior to her speaking, but now he actually became motionless. Not a twitch or a shuffle. After several moments of silent shock his mouth moved, forming the word; "What?"

Suiseiseki buried her face in her hands and groaned. "She's right. I so don't believe I didn't think of this."

Jun gasped at her. "What? You mean she's serious? Please tell me this is some kind of joke."

"It's no joke Jun," said Suigintou, relishing his discomfort, "If you want to find the poor girls soul tree before midnight, then you're just going to have to kiss her."

Jun spluttered. "W-why? What good will that do? This isn't a fairy tale. She's not going to wake up if I k-kiss her!"

Suigintou tilted her head in the direction of Suiseiseki, inviting her sister to explain the details. Suiseiseki did so, trying hard not to think about how Shinku would be feeling right now. "People's dreams are linked through the branches of Yggdrasil, the world tree. The stronger the bond between two people, the stronger the link. If you can forge a strong enough emotional bond with Tomoe, we can follow the branches of Yggdrasil from your tree to hers. Since we don't have much time, and since Tomoe is trapped in this state and cannot interact with you, the only way to do that is for you to kiss her."

Jun listened to the words and wished this was all just a dream. Sadly he was very much awake and the clock was ticking. He could feel his face burning with the heat of embarrassment. He doubted very much if he would have the courage to kiss Tomoe even if she were awake and expecting it. Doing it while she was lying in a coma, and with Shinku watching ... this was a nightmare. This really was the worst weekend ever.

Suiseiseki moved to stand beside Shinku and clasped her hand, giving her sister a deeply sympathetic look. Shinku was rooted to the spot, her face completely devoid of expression or emotion. Jun looked from Tomoe to her, his blush deepening.

"Shinku ..."

"Well Jun, what are you waiting for?" she said, her voice carefully neutral, even. Jun blinked at her in surprise.

"Huh?"

"If you wish to save her soul without giving Kirakishou mine, then you must kiss her. This is your choice, Jun. You said there was always another way. Here it is."

He couldn't tell if she were angry or sad. She gave nothing of her feelings away, and he felt lost, standing there as they waited for him to do something he wasn't really sure he wanted to do. Kiss her? He'd never kissed anyone before. This would be his first kiss. His _first_. Boys really shouldn't make such a big deal about that, but Jun felt like it was.

"But I ... I ..."

"Tick tock, Jun, tick tock," Suigintou glanced at her wrist as if checking the time. Suiseiseki glared at her.

"Shut up you!"

She gave Jun a helpless look, knowing full well Shinku's feelings for him and what this would do to her, yet having no alternative to offer. Shinku continued to stand still as a statue, offering no protest or further comment. Jun wished she would. He wished she would cry out for him not to do it, or ask Suigintou for another way. Something, _anything_. Yet she didn't. She just stood there watching him with those cold blue eyes of hers, waiting for him to kiss the very girl she was jealous of, a kiss that he had refused to give her when he'd had the chance.

With the weight of their stares and the pressure of time at his back, Jun gazed at Tomoe's lips and tried to bury the sudden feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. This shouldn't be such an issue. It wasn't as if he were proposing to her, or ... or ... it was just a kiss. That's all. A kiss to save her soul. Poetic, even. He swallowed.

"Incidentally, you should put as much feeling into it as possible," Suigintou helpfully added, ever eager to twist the knife, "After all, the stronger the kiss the stronger the bond. You do want to find her tree in time, don't you?"

He silently wished Suiseiseki would slap her again. Feeling distinctly weak at the knees, Jun leaned down and pressed his lips against Tomoe's, closing his eyes as he did so. He followed Suigintou's advice just in case it was true, and poured his aching heart into the kiss, whilst his head felt as if someone had snuck in and lit a fire in his brain. Her lips were tender, warm. After what felt like an age, Jun pulled back and opened his eyes, half expecting to see her wake up as if this were some kind of fairy tale. Flushed with guilt he turned to the assembled dolls.

"There," he said, his voice so tiny and quiet as to be almost unheard. Shinku had still not moved. She did not even blink. Looking at her now, one could easily mistake her for an ordinary lifeless doll. Jun however couldn't even bring himself to look at her. He felt numb. Suigintou gestured towards Suiseiseki.

"Your turn, Gardener."

Suiseiseki let go of Shinku's hand and stepped forwards, her expression miserable. She summoned her artificial spirit and directed it towards Jun, who promptly folded up onto the floor, sound asleep. A swirling grey vortex appeared above him.

"Let us be off, there is not much time left," said Shinku, finally moving. She strolled past Suiseiseki and looked up at the open doorway.

"Oh, Shinku ..." Suiseiseki murmured. Shinku either did not hear or chose to ignore her, floating up into the portal and vanishing without another word. Suigintou stopped at Suiseiseki's side and folded her arms.

"What's with the doe-eyed looks?" she asked.

Suiseiseki glanced sideways at Suigintou and narrowed her eyes. "Shinku is in love with Jun, and we just made him stab her in the heart. I hope you're happy," she snapped before vanishing into the portal, leaving a startled Suigintou behind.


	9. EP2: Forest for the Trees

And here we have it, the final part of episode two. This episode turned out to be a lot longer than I had originally planned. This chapter in particular turned out longer than I was expecting, and I had to cut short some of the final scenes to avoid having it run too long. I hope it's okay, and not just a big gibbering mess. I'll be taking a short break before writing episode three in order to catch up on my other work, but knowing how much fun this is I shouldn't be away from it for very long. Many thanks to everyone who is following and reviewing this, you're all absolutely fantabulous!

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE 2

Forest for the Trees

* * *

Jun landed on his head. He _always_ seemed to land in his head. Interdimensional travel just wasn't his thing. It was especially annoying since the dolls always seemed to float gently down unharmed. He picked himself up and rubbed his bruised scalp, wondering if all these rough landings were causing any sort of permanent harm. Shinku and Suiseiseki were already checking out their new surroundings, and it didn't take Suigintou long to arrive and join them.

"Hmm," she said after doing a slow three-sixty, "It would seem our dear little sister is not as big a fool as I'd imagined."

"You can say that again," remarked Jun as he recovered his wits and took in their immediate environment, "Just remind me - we're looking for a tree, right?"

"Yup," said Suiseiseki with less than enthusiasm.

"That could be a problem ..."

They had followed the branches and roots of Yggdrasil from Jun's dream to this place - an N-Field in the form of a giant greenhouse, filled to the brim with all manner of plant life and trees. It was like a miniature jungle sauna in here. Jun could already feel himself starting to sweat. How the heck were they supposed to find one tree among this veritable forest? They didn't even know what Tomoe's tree looked like.

"Oh man, this is gonna be like trying to find a needle in a haystack," lamented Jun, his shoulders slumping. Suiseiseki stamped her foot and clenched her hands in frustrated annoyance.

"That Kirakishou is really starting to piss me off!"

Suigintou sneered at her back. "My, what eloquent language for a Rozen Maiden."

Jun had to impose himself between the two dolls before a fight broke out. He held his hands out towards each of them. "Knock it off, we don't have much time!"

"We should split up and search," said Shinku, briefly checking her ornate pocket watch, "Suigintou and I shall start here and work our way outwards. I suggest that Jun and Suiseiseki begin at the edge of the greenhouse and move around the perimeter."

Jun shrugged. "But how will we know what to look for? Will it be anything like my tree?"

Suiseiseki snorted and shook her head. "Certainly not; a persons tree is a representation of their soul. Your tree is small and stunted because you're such a puny little runt. Tomoe's tree will likewise reflect her personality, which is very different from yours, human."

Jun ground his teeth, fighting the urge to snap at her for continuing to insult him. That wouldn't help matters, and besides, Suiseiseki was as close to an expert on these matters as there was. He needed her help. Unfortunately. "Well then what _will_ it look like?"

Suiseiseki seemed to consider for a second. She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, as if praying. Jun waited silently for several long moments before his patience wore thin.

"Suiseiseki?"

"Shhh! I'm thinking. Oh!" She opened her eyes wide and extended her index finger in a eureka moment, "Of course, it must be a Cherry Blossom tree. Probably about the same size as Shinku. I'll know for sure when I see it, so if you find one just bring it to me and I'll tell you if that's it or not. Simple."

In theory. Jun had a bad feeling about this, and not all of the sweat forming on his brow was caused by the intense heat and humidity of this place. They set off in the pairs Shinku had selected. Jun was almost relieved to be out of her sight. It wasn't that she was glaring at him, it was that she _wasn't_ glaring at him, despite the fact that he'd kissed Tomoe. He could tell it was bothering her by the fact that she was very pointedly _not_ being bothered by it. Like the way someone could make a resolute silence sound like an angry shout. Shinku's silence towards him was screaming at him so loudly it hurt. He glanced down at Suiseiseki, who was striding down the paved greenhouse path beside him. Should he say something to her? Perhaps, but only if he could withstand the inevitable stream of denigrating insults she'd throw his way.

"Shouldn't you be looking for Tomoe's tree instead of staring at me?" Suiseiseki said suddenly, her gaze still sweeping the rows of greenery for any sign of the aforementioned tree. Jun's eyes widened a little as he realised he _had_ been staring at her, and he hurriedly looked away. The greenhouse was huge, but they eventually reached the edge of it. On the other side of the glass paned walls they could see only more plant life. This could easily have been Suiseiseki or Souseiseki's N-Field. As they stopped, Jun tried to decide whether they should head left or right, but Suiseiseki was more interested in him.

"You're wondering if you hurt Shinku's feelings, aren't you?" She asked abruptly, startling Jun. He gaped at her.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" he said, trying to play dumb.

"Don't try and play dumb with me," Suiseiseki countered, "I'm far too used to it to be fooled. Even a puny human runt like you is perceptive towards other people's emotions, and you're worried that Shinku is upset because you kissed Tomoe. Well? Aren't you?"

Jun opened his mouth to argue, but then decided not to waste his time. It was true, and at least Suiseiseki had brought the issue up instead of him. He shut his mouth and nodded very slightly. Suiseiseki folded her arms and fixed him with a stern expression.

"Well she is. Shinku's been jealous of you and Tomoe for a while now, and she's really in love with you. If you were to ask me how she's feeling right now, I'd have to say heartbroken and betrayed."

Jun almost swooned, a distinctly unmanly behaviour. Shinku was in love with him? He rubbed his head in a dazed fashion as he stared off into space, not quite willing to believe it. "Seriously? Shinku? Jealous?"

Suiseiseki rolled her eyes and counted off on her fingers, "Yes, yes, and yes. Honestly human, I swear, sometimes you're just completely hopeless. Shinku is afraid that you've gone and fallen in love with Tomoe, and who can blame her after what just happened?"

"That wasn't my fault! I never wanted to kiss her!"

"Didn't you?"

He froze. Didn't he? Well? Wasn't it true that Tomoe had a way of making him feel awkward and self-conscious when she was around? And wasn't it also true that he enjoyed spending time with her, despite that? Some of his dreams had prominently featured her of late as well. He blushed just thinking about them.

"I ask because Suigintou's plan actually worked - the kiss you gave Tomoe formed an extremely strong bond between you that allowed us to find this place after all. That wouldn't have happened unless you really felt something for her."

Jun clutched his head and screwed his eyes shut, as if that would help him shut out his own jumbled feelings. "Ohhh, I don't know!" he wailed, "I care about both of them, but I can't really do anything about it with Shinku. At least Tomoe doesn't make fun of me, or hit me if I even think of touching her."

"Oh, so you've been touching her have you?" Suiseiseki said accusingly, "When was this?

Jun opened his eyes and lowered his hands a fraction. "What? I ... no! Look, you've got it all wrong-"

Suiseiseki stamped her foot suddenly, cutting him off. "Has it occurred to you you bumbling buffoon that maybe Shinku finds it as difficult as you do to express just how much she cares for you? It's especially painful when you're afraid the person you love is in love with someone else!"

Jun almost growled in frustration. "Well what do you want me to do about it?"

Suiseiseki was shocked by his evident stupidity, despite her insistence that she was used to it by now. "If you don't know then you're even dumber than I thought, and that's saying something. It's so simple even that puny Ichigo could figure it out!" she waved her arms at him to hammer the point home, "Shinku loves you. You love Shinku. If you want to be with her then _tell_ her. If not, then tell her that. And then wait for me to turn you into the next Kunkun murder victim. Moron."

* * *

Shinku and Suigintou were moving outwards in a circular, spiral motion, carefully searching for some sign of a Cherry tree. Well, Shinku was searching carefully, Suigintou was more along for the ride. Under normal circumstance Shinku might have been overjoyed to be working side by side with Suigintou after so many years of bitter animosity between them. Recent events however had her mind occupied elsewhere, and Suigintou was able to sense her sisters desire not to talk. Which of course meant that she had a sudden desire to talk.

"A little bird told me that you've done an astonishingly foolish thing and fallen in love with that insipid Medium of yours," she said as casually as one might discuss the weather, "Please tell me you're not that stupid, Shinku."

Shinku actually scowled. "I do not wish to discuss it."

"Oh?" Suigintou chuckled, "So it's true then. How disappointing. I thought you had more sense than that. Not to mention better taste."

"Jun is my servant, nothing more," Shinku insisted, her scowl deepening. Suigintou moved to stand in front of Shinku, blocking her way.

"But you wish it was more," She teased, "You wish you could give him everything a human girl could. Everything a growing boy like Jun desires. Alas, the charms of a doll begin to lose their appeal when faced with a girl like Tomoe. Am I right?"

Shinku decided to try a different tact. "Father told us that we should never harm humans, a rule that Kirakishou has once again disregarded. As Rozen Maiden it is our duty to protect those humans she brings harm to. It is therefore imperative that we find Miss Kashiwaba's tree as soon as possible."

Suigintou bowed and stood to one side to allow Shinku past, smirking a little as she did so. "If you want my humble advice Shinku, forget about Jun. You'll never be able to give him what he wants."

At which point Kirakishou seemed to melt out of the tree behind Suigintou and proceeded to wrap herself around her elder sister. "Oh I don't know," she said in a sweetly seductive voice, "I think us dolls can be quite pleasing when we want to be ..."

"Kirakishou!" Shinku shifted into a combat stance, her hand extended ready to send an attack at the seventh doll. Kirakishou tightened her grip on Suigintou and twisted, causing Suigintou's features to contort with pain.

"Now now, Shinku, you wouldn't want to hurt dear Suigintou. Not after the two of you have just made up."

Suigintou snarled defiantly and struggled to free herself. "Ignore her Shinku, attack!"

Shinku hesitated for a moment, and a moment was all it took for Kirakishou to act. She summoned a mass of writhing rose vines that ensnared Shinku, wrapping themselves around her limbs and swiftly constricting her until she was completely immobile. Shinku tried to break free, yet her attempts were futile. Kirakishou giggled and released Suigintou. Within seconds she too was wrapped in a cocoon of rose vines.

"Much better," said Kirakishou as she stalked around the two trapped dolls. She leaned over and pressed her face close to Shinku's. To Shinku's disgust the white rose that existed in place of her second eye extended from her eye socket and brushed against her cheek. She winced and tried to turn away, prompting Kirakishou to snigger. "Honestly now Shinku, did you really think I would be fooled twice? Of course I knew that Jun would find another way. All I had to do was wait for you to show up. And here you are. Now I can take your Rosa Mystica _and_ destroy the girls tree. Poor Jun will be devastated."

"Why would you do such a thing?" Shinku demanded, "What has Jun done to provoke such a despicable ploy?"

Kirakishou stood upright, her rose eye retracting once more. "Done? Why, nothing. It's what he's capable of that interests me."

"Jun isn't capable of anything other than being an insufferable nuisance," Suigintou snapped, still fighting in vain against her bindings. Kirakishou sneered at her.

"Such a poor liar, Suigintou," she said scathingly, "Jun has the potential to be father's next apprentice. Don't tell me you didn't know. You saw what he did - he repaired the damage you inflicted upon Shinku. Only father could do that. Father, or someone with the same gift as father."

"Jun ..." Shinku stopped struggling and wondered briefly where he was, and what Kirakishou had in store for him. The seventh doll turned her full attention on Suigintou now and knelt down beside her, brushing the tips of her fingers lightly across her face.

"I wont harm you, though, Suigintou. Once I'm done here you will be free to go. I do so hope we can be friends. Don't you want to be friends, Suigintou?" She suddenly cupped Suigintou's face with her hand and moved her own close enough to kiss her. Suigintou managed a sneer that easily trumped the one Kirakishou had given her earlier.

"You are such an insolent little sister. Do you really think I'd let you take Shinku's Rosa Mystica and then simply walk away?"

Kirakishou bobbed her head this way and that, a coy smile spreading across her face. "Is that all that bothers you? If you like, I'll give you Shinku's Rosa Mystica. I don't need it ..."

Suigintou's expression tightened. "I don't need _you_ to give it to me. If I want her Rosa Mystica I can take it for myself."

Kirakishou brushed the tip of her nose against Suigintou's and then leaned around to whisper into her ear; "Then take it."

She stood and gestured, prompting the mass of vines that held Shinku to move, shifting her closer to Suigintou. Shinku's eyes widened as she was thrust in front of her elder sister, while Kirakishou stood behind Suigintou and laid a hand on her shoulder. The vines around Suigintou's right arm uncoiled, allowing her to move the limb freely, though the rest of her body remained imprisoned.

"Go on Suigintou," urged Kirakishou in her soft, almost sing-song voice, "You want Shinku's Rosa Mystica. You've always wanted it. All you have to do is reach out and take it. She cant stop you."

Suigintou locked her eyes upon Shinku's, which were actually afraid. Shinku didn't struggle, she simply looked pleadingly at Suigintou.

"Suigintou, please ..."

"Yes Suigintou, please ..." Kirakishou mocked. She bowed low and spoke into Suigintou's ear once more, "Please take it. She's begging you. She wants you to take her Rosa Mystica."

Suigintou was torn. This was what she'd wanted ever since the feud between her and Shinku had begun all those years ago. Across the ages the desire to defeat Shinku and take her Rosa Mystica had driven her like an obsession. It was all she thought about. Shinku was her white whale. And yet ... things had changed. Shinku had defeated her, and she'd returned only to lose at the Alice game a second time. Her burning hatred for Shinku had started to wane. Even Shinku herself had regrets about their past differences, about the hurtful things she'd said and done. She'd said as much to Suigintou before, and now ... now those words came back to her.

_I was wrong before. It was wrong of me to call you a piece of junk._

_As long as one heeds the voice that calls them, no one can ever turn you into junk. None of us were ever junk to begin with. We all carry the radiance that makes us worthy of becoming Alice._

_And so ... I am sorry._

"Suigintou ..."

She blinked and narrowed her eyes. "Well Shinku, are you ready?"

Behind her, Kirakishou giggled and turned her eye on Shinku expectantly. It came as something of a shock then when Suigintou was suddenly enveloped in blue flames, burning the rose vines that held her and singeing Kirakishou as well, who was forced to jump back. Suigintou wasted no time and swiftly burned away the vines holding Shinku as well, freeing the startled blue-eyed doll.

Suigintou spun about and stood side by side with Shinku as they faced Kirakishou together. Kirakishou brushed her dress and looked mildly annoyed. "You've changed, Suigintou."

"For the better," said Shinku, summoning a cloud of glowing rose petals. Kirakishou tilted her head sideways and let her hands hang limply at her side.

"Your hatred of Shinku used to make you strong. Now you are just another weak, helpless little doll. So sad."

Suigintou's wings extended and she blew Kirakishou a kiss, sending the point of a black feather shooting at her leering face. Kirakishou deftly caught the feather and straightened her head, peering at it closely.

"I think you'll find that I am still strong enough to teach an insolent little sister a lesson about respect," said Suigintou, her words filled with all her usual self-assured arrogance. Grinning despite the circumstances, Kirakishou reached up and neatly tucked the black feather into her hair.

"Shall we dance?" she said.

* * *

Jun winced in pain and clutched at his hand. The rose ring on his finger flared brightly as it grew increasingly hot. That could only mean one thing.

"Shinku ... she's in trouble," he managed to gasp between clenched teeth. Suiseiseki tugged at his trousers and pointed.

"Look Jun!"

A dozen feet down the path on their left was a stunningly beautiful Cherry Blossom tree. It glowed faintly as it nestled there amongst the surrounding plants, beckoning to them. They ran together down the path, eager to retrieve it and get out of this place before anything worse happened. Things were seldom that easy however, and as they drew near the tree a bright white light appeared out of nowhere and shot towards them. Suiseiseki threw herself to the ground and covered her head with her hands, whilst Jun was sent tumbling head over heels from the force of the impact.

"What the hell?" he sat up and blinked several times, mildly dazed by the attack. Suiseiseki lowered her hands and peeked around. The light hovered a few feet away, pulsating in a menacing manner.

"It must be Kirakishou's artificial spirit," she observed. Jun got up and glared at the thing.

"Oh, is that all?" he cracked his knuckles and waited for it try again, evidently seeing the spirit as little more than a nuisance. It surged forwards without warning and struck him in the stomach, shoving him backwards and causing him trip over Suiseiseki, who cried out in alarm. When she recovered she turned and snarled at the puny human.

"What do you think you're doing you great big dolt? Leave it to me!"

She summoned her watering can and proceeded to spray the surrounding plants and trees. Their branches and leaves swelled in size and reached out, engulfing the hostile spirit completely.

"Ha! You see? Suiseiseki saves the day once again."

The foliage prison exploded, showering the pair with bits of scorched bark and petals. The spirit, Rosary, expanded to more than ten times its normal size and hurtled towards them with alarming speed, threatening to crush them into the ground with ease. Suiseiseki squealed with fright and flinched. Her impending status as a smear was postponed when Jun threw his arms around her and held his rose ring in front of them defensively. It shone with a brilliant emerald green light and kept Rosary at bay with a crackling energy shield.

"Any more brilliant ideas?" he asked through gritted teeth.

* * *

Barasuishou shut the magazine, slid off the bed and silently replaced it on the shelf. She sighed. She'd now read everything in the house. Every book, every pamphlet, every magazine. She'd even read the backs of the food packaging and DVD's. It had helped her pass the time, but now she didn't know what to do. She felt like a loose end. The house was empty save for herself and Nori, and Nori was sleeping soundly in her room. She supposed she could go to sleep herself, but she didn't feel particularly tired.

She needed a distraction. Something to take her mind off _itself_. Lately if she just sat around, memories would start to surface, and without the emotional suppression of her rose eye patch those memories now stirred feelings inside of her. She hated having feelings. They were useless; they clouded her mind and her judgement. Some of them even caused her pain. How did people cope with them? Her past deeds were almost constantly stinging her conscience, something she'd never had to deal with before. It was getting worse, too. It pained her to even look at Shinku now.

And then there was Kirakishou. The true seventh doll, the one she had tried to measure up to and failed. Kirakishou was only even awake because of her. The seventh doll was meant to sleep until the final stage of the Alice game, when only one of the Rozen Maiden was left standing. When that time came, Kirakishou would appear and challenge that doll for the right to become Alice. That should have been her, Barasuishou. She should have fought that final battle and won. Except it hadn't quite worked out that way, had it? The Rosa Mystica had destroyed her instead. Despite that, she had still created the conditions for the seventh doll to awaken, and now Kirakishou had no clear challenger to face and was instead causing all manner of trouble. All her fault.

"Why ..." she whispered to the empty room. She whirled around and stared up at the ceiling, her eyes desperate, pleading for an answer. "Why? Why did you bring me back? I have no reason for being any more. I don't belong here. You should have left me in pieces. It's no more than I deserved ..." she bowed her head and blinked back tears. Stupid, useless tears. She hated them, and she hated that she hated them. She threw back her head and cried out. "Answer me! Give me a reason! Why am I here? What am I meant to do?"

There was only silence. No answer came, and she hadn't really expected one. She'd simply felt some kind of need to talk, to say something, even to an empty room. She sagged and wiped her eyes, trying her best to put a lid on the simmering pot that was her emotions. She noticed something out of the corner of her eye, and turned to see a glowing red light floating towards her through the gap in the bedroom door. It was Holie - Shinku's artificial spirit. Barasuishou frowned as it zipped up to her and bobbed about frantically, as if trying to get her attention.

"What? What is it?"

Holie pulsed several times, but Barasuishou could only vaguely understand it. She was not a true Rozen Maiden and thus had no artificial spirit herself. From what she could gather though, Shinku and the others were in some kind of trouble and needed help.

"Show me," she said.

* * *

Rosary relented in its attack, shrinking back down to normal size and zipping sideways. Jun sagged and Suiseiseki let out a sigh of relief.

"I guess it's a good thing I have you as a Medium," she remarked. Jun leaned on his knees and tried with difficulty to ignore the burning pain of the ring, which was glowing red now. Shinku was still in trouble. He puffed and nodded.

"Not so bad for a puny human, huh?"

Suiseiseki smirked a little. "You have your moments. Now what do you say we get that tree and beat a hasty retreat?"

Tomoe's tree was, as Suiseiseki had predicted, about the size of Shinku. Kirakishou had been considerate enough to pot it after stealing it, which would make carrying it out of here easier. He picked it up and tried not to think about the fact that he was essentially holding Tomoe's soul. That said though, it was a very beautiful tree, especially compared to his own. Tomoe was as pretty on the inside as she was on the outside.

... and he did _not_ just think that.

"Okay Jun, I'll open a doorway for you back to Yggdrasil," said Suiseiseki, "then I'll find Shinku and get her out of here as well."

"And Suigintou."

"... oh yes. How could I forget."

Before she could do as she intended, Rosary chose that moment to swoop in and attack again. Caught unawares they both flinched, but were surprised when a hand came out of nowhere and caught the artificial spirit in mid flight. Jun blinked and looked across. It was Barasuishou.

"You? What are you doing here?"

Barasuishou took a step towards them and Holie floated out from behind her. "I heard you were in need of help. I came."

Suiseiseki was even more shocked than Jun. She watched the soft white glow that seeped from Barasuishou's hand, the one holding Rosary, and then narrowed her eyes at the new arrival. "Yeah, well don't expect any thanks!"

"I don't," said Barasuishou, "Where is Shinku?"

Jun would have pointed but his hands were busy holding Tomoe's tree. He turned and nodded in the direction instead. "She said she was going to search in the middle of the greenhouse and work her way out. I think she's fighting someone. Could be Kirakishou."

"Could be Suigintou," Suiseiseki added bitterly. Barasuishou glanced over her shoulder in the direction he indicated.

"I will go. You should leave."

"You don't need to tell me twice," said Jun. He nudged Suiseiseki, who scowled and set about opening a doorway out of here.

* * *

Shinku flexed her hand and sent a jet of crimson rose petals at Kirakishou. The seventh doll dispersed them with an idle wave of her own hand and returned the gesture, unleashing a torrent of white rose petals upon Shinku. Suigintou put herself in the path of the attack and blocked it by folding her wings in front of herself protectively. When she unfurled her wings, Kirakishou had vanished. She reappeared behind Shinku and shoved her into Suigintou, sending both dolls sprawling. They recovered just in time to doge a hail of crystal shards.

"Is that the best you have?" Suigintou taunted. She pointed the tips of her wings and released a relentless storm of black feathers against Kirakishou, who simply ignored them. The feathers seemed to swerve around her, as if redirected by some unseen force. She grinned.

"I'm going easy on you because I like you, big sis. If I were truly trying to fight, the battle would already be over ..."

Shinku and Suigintou launched a renewed wave of attacks, but Kirakishou repeatedly evaded by vanishing and reappearing in a zigzagging pattern, each time moving closer and closer to them. She appeared beside Suigintou and landed a punch on her jaw, staggering her. A split second later she materialised next to Shinku and did the same, then appeared behind both of them and blasted them forwards with a wave of rose petals. They landed in a sprawled heap on the path.

"Pitiful," said Kirakishou, "Is it any wonder Barasuishou was able to defeat you?"

Suigintou pushed herself up and glanced sideways at Shinku. "I can't use my full powers without harming Megu," she said. Shinku nodded in understanding and got to her feet, brushing her dress off. Kirakishou giggled.

"I am going to enjoy breaking you, Shinku ..." she raised her hand and pointed, "I think I will take your arm first. A reminder of times past."

"I think not," said a familiar voice. Barasuishou grabbed Kirakishou from behind and hurled her down the adjacent path, summoning a veritable minefield of crystal spikes there as she did so. Kirakishou skilfully dodged them, floating, darting and twisting aside to avoid impalement. When the assault stopped, she hovered in the air and watched as the Enju doll laid her hands on Shinku and Suigintou. All three disappeared in a haze of violet light, leaving Kirakishou alone in the greenhouse. She stared in mute shock for several long moments and then threw back her head and screamed, causing every single glass pane in the greenhouse to shatter into a thousand glittering shards.

* * *

Suiseiseki dropped out of the swirling vortex and landed lightly on the ground. She dusted her hands off and strolled over to Jun with a look of smug satisfaction on her face.

"One soul tree successfully replanted," she said cheerfully, "Tomoe should be right as rain in no time. I am so totally awesome."

Jun bit his lip in worried anticipation. "Yeah, but what's to stop her from doing it again?"

"This," said Barasuishou, stepping forwards and uncurling her hand. A blue wisp of light floated in the air, prompting Suiseiseki to gasp in astonishment.

"Lempicka! Where did you get that?"

"Kirakishou had it," Barasuishou explained, "I took it from her when I attacked her. I suspect she will not find it so easy to delve into other people's dreams without it." She handed Lempicka to Suiseiseki, who took it with a mixture of amazement and reverence. Suigintou cleared her throat.

"It seems the princess has awakened," she said. Everyone looked around and saw Tomoe sitting up and rubbing her eyes. She covered her mouth with her hand as she yawned.

"Hey guys. Umm, where am I?"

* * *

It was well past midnight in the Sakurada house and everyone was sound asleep. Everyone except Shinku. She opened her case and cast her gaze about. The room was bathed in the cool silvery light of the moon, allowing her to see that all was quiet and still. She silently climbed out of her case and closed it. There were two other cases beside hers - Suiseiseki had finally relented and moved back into Jun's room after the night's events.

"Farewell, Suiseiseki," Shinku murmured. She turned away from the cases and stepped towards the shelf where her things were stored. She would have to leave them here. It was a shame, but she had no choice. She reached around and withdrew a slim envelope from her dress, before carefully placing it on the shelf in front of her Kunkun collection. It was addressed to Jun.

Collecting her case, Shinku stopped at the door and glanced back at the sleeping figure of Jun himself. He looked peaceful. It pained her greatly to do this, but she assured herself that it was for the best. She turned back to the door, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Goodbye ... Jun," she whispered.

Then she was gone.

* * *

Jun: Shinku's gone! I can't believe she left!

Suiseiseki: This is terrible, this is absolutely terrible! She's gone and fallen down a rabbit hole and now we'll never find her!

Suigintou: Why are you all looking at me? I'm through solving your problems for you. Do your own detective work.

Jun: I wish Kunkun were here. He'd find Shinku in no time.

Suiseiseki: Gah! Get her away from me! Jun, help!

Jun: What is it now?

Suiseiseki: That creepy Barasuishou keeps trying to kiss me! What the heck is the deal with that?

Hina: Oh! Oh! Hina's coming back! Yay!

Shinku: Laplace no Ma, I challenge you.

Laplace: And I accept ...

Jun: Next time, on Rozen Maiden: Märchen ...

Shinku: The light of truth eludes us.


	10. EP3: Dear Diary

Tried something a little different for this chapter. This is sort of a one off, meant to act as a recap for the story so far and maybe offer a little extra insight. It'll be back to normal next chapter.

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE 3

Dear Diary

* * *

DOLLHOUSE

The blog of Jun Sakurada

**# **NEW POST 1

Okay, so I finally caved into my sisters incessant nagging and started a blog. I have to say, I don't get blogs. I mean they're like a diary, right? That you let people read. Doesn't that seem like a contradiction to anyone? I thought the whole point of a diary was that you _don't _let people read it. This is such a waste of time.

1 comment

It isn't a waste of time Jun! It'll make you feel better to put your thoughts and feelings into words. It's therapeutic you know? - N. Sakurada

**# **NEW YEAR

It's New Year. What else can I say? Mom and dad can't make it back, so they're going to be away _again_. Probably for the best, I still don't know how I'm going to explain the dolls to them when they eventually do come back. I gave Shinku a tea set for Christmas. I think she liked it, but she seems down lately. Absent parents is something we both have to deal with I guess. Tomoe sent me a present as well - a model car, one I was missing from my collection. How did she know which one I needed? Did Nori tell her? I feel bad for not getting her anything now.

2 comments

Hi Jun, happy new year. Yes your sister did tell me about the car, I hope you like it. Don't worry about getting me a gift. Looking forward to seeing you at school this year. - T. Kashiwaba

Sorry Jun, I had a look through your room to get some ideas for Christmas gifts for you. I hope you don't mind. Mom and dad are really sorry they couldn't make it back, I know they tried really hard but it's especially busy this time of year. - N. Sakurada

**# **SCHOOL

I started back at school today. Amazingly I made it through the day without running out of the building screaming. Yay for me I guess. Got a lot of stares from people, but the teachers were nice enough all things considered. Shinku's been spending all her time in my room, reading. There's a growing pile of books in the corner - where does she get them? I asked her about it and she said she was looking for a way to help Hinaichigo and Souseiseki. Suiseiseki has been even more annoying than normal. She got into a fight with Shinku last night because she asked me to read her a bedtime story (she does that a lot). Shinku was up late reading and she said it was distracting her. What a temper those dolls have.

4 comments

It was great to see you at school Jun, well done! A lot of people were asking me about you. Maybe you could try talking to some of them? - N. Sakurada

Geez Nori, one step at a time. - J. Sakurada

Is it really possible to bring Hina back? I thought she was dead? - T. Kashiwaba

The dolls father said it could be done. He asked Shinku to do it. Instead of, you know, doing it himself. Man, this is going to be one strange blog for anyone that reads it. - J. Sakurada

**# **STRAWBERRY PANIC

I had to pry Shinku off my computer just to post this. How does she even know how to use a computer? The last time the dolls tried to use modern technology they blew up the microwave and put the vacuum cleaner through a glass door. Shinku's taking this whole research thing a little too far. Like obsessively far. She hasn't set foot out of my room in days and I cant even remember the last time she told me to make the tea. Got a visit from that doll with the yellow dress. What was her name? Damn, I cant remember. Said she wanted to check up on us and see how we were doing, but wound up in a fight with Suiseiseki over the last of the strawberries. Do dolls get fat if they eat too much? They don't seem to. Tomoe came around to help me with my homework. I really owe her big time for helping me out at school. She still misses Hinaichigo. I do too. Hina was fun.

7 comments

Hey Sakurada! Great to see you back at school. Tried to talk to you yesterday but you were busy. Can't believe you started a blog. What's all this stuff about dolls? - S. Onota

I live in a house full of creepy supernatural dolls that move about and talk just like regular people. - J. Sakurada

Huh? - S. Onota

You asked. - J. Sakurada

Ohhh, you started a blog! That's so cool! That was Kanaria that visited you by the way, I'm her Medium, Micchan. We met last Halloween, remember? Sorry to hear that the dolls are fighting. Maybe I could help? If they ever want to stay at my place for a while just give me a call. - M. Kusabue

I'd take you up on your offer, but Shinku wont move more than five feet away from her books atm and Suiseiseki thinks you're weird. Sorry. - J. Sakurada

LOL! You guys are all weird! Seriously, what's the deal with the dolls? - K. Itō

**# **I'VE GOT MAIL

Oh man, what a day. First of all I had a _great_ time at school. Itō and Onota told everyone about my blog and now people think I'm some kind of sissy boy who collects dolls. Thanks guys, really needed that. It's like the thing with the dresses all over again. Maybe I should just get a girls uniform and change my name, then I wouldn't seem so weird. Wait, what the hell am I saying? Ehh. Anyway, I finally had it out with Shinku and convinced her to stop her obsessive crusade for answers. We'll find a way to bring back Hina and Souseiseki. As it happens the answer might have been delivered right to my door. I got a package in the mail - from Rozen of all people! That wasn't half so surprising as what was inside. It was that creepy doll Enju made, Barasuishou. I gotta say, Rozen is one hell of a dollmaker if he could put her back together. The last time I saw her she went to pieces. Like literally. Apparently Rozen wants me to take care of her. That guy has a few screws loose if you ask me. The other dolls weren't happy about it. Understatement. They refused to let me wind her. And oh yes - Kanaria is back. Her Medium is away on business and Nori said she could stay over. Gee, thanks Nori. Tomoe came over and helped me with my homework again. She suggested I join a club at school. That's the last thing I need - a whole new way to make an idiot of myself. I'll pass. Just coping with school and these crazy dolls is enough.

9 comments

Seriously dude, what's with the dolls? And what's a 'Medium'? - S. Onota

A Medium is a nickname for someone who collects specialized animatronic dolls. Jun collects them because he's interested in the mechanics of them. I used to collect them too, but I gave him my doll because I broke her. - T. Kashiwaba

Ohhh. That makes sense. Sort of. - S. Onota

Hey Jun, just reminding you that I have that lacrosse tournament coming up this weekend. I'll make dinner for you and the others before I go and you can heat it up, okay? - N. Sakurada

Thanks sis. Good luck with the game. - J. Sakurada

Hey Sakurada, why is it you wont talk to anyone at school except Kashiwaba? Do you have a crush on her or something? The way you act around her makes it seem like it. - K. Itō

No I don't! She's the class rep and she's helping me out because I'm way behind everyone else. That's all. - J. Sakurada

Actually Jun, I think the two of you make a really cute couple together. You should ask her out! - N. Sakurada

SHUT UP! How the heck do you delete comments on this thing anway? - J. Sakurada

**# **UNLUCKY NUMBER SEVEN

Well that was ... I don't even know where to start. Nori had a nightmare last night, only it turned out to be caused by the seventh Rozen Maiden. The real one apparently. She threatened Nori and demanded that we turn over Barasuishou to her. The others said I should just do it. Shinku was especially odd. I decided to go ahead and give this Kirakishou what she wanted, but I figured I should wind Barasuishou up first. Suiseiseki and Kanaria ran screaming from the room when I did. Considering what the little psychopath did before, she was surprisingly mellow when she woke up. I explained the situation and she agreed to play along with my idea - pretend to be asleep and then surprise Kirakishou. It worked anyway, and we managed to break the covenant with Nori, so she's safe now. She was pretty shaken up by the whole thing, and keeps blaming herself. I told her it wasn't her fault but she still feels badly about it all. Meanwhile we have another evil Rozen Maiden running around causing trouble. Just great. As if Suigintou wasn't bad enough. At least this Barasuishou seems to be less trouble than the others. She just stares out of the window all day long. Creepy, but I'll take that over bossiness and relentless verbal attacks any time.

7 comments

... the hell? - K. Itō

That's terrible! Is Nori okay? Are you? - T. Kashiwaba

Yeah, we're fine. The dolls are not too happy though, what with having that Barasuishou around. - J. Sakurada

OH! That sounds so exciting! I wish I was there! Hey Junjun, could I move in with you? - M. Kusabue

Forget it, it's crowded enough here as it is. And seriously ... Junjun? I really don't need a nickname. - J. Sakurada

Awwww. Well can you at least tell me what this seventh doll is like? What does she wear? What colour is her hair? Do you think she'd let me take pictures of her? - M. Kusabue

Did you not read my post? Kirakishou is a _menace_. Anyway, when are you getting back? Kanaria doesn't want to stay here now Barasuishou is awake. - J. Sakurada

**# **WHAT A DRAG

It's the weekend, you'd think I could relax a little. But no. I got a call from Kusabue, apparently she has to work on the weekend. What a job. She was doing a fashion photo shoot for teen girls but her models called in sick. So who does she call for help? Yeah I don't get it either. Nori was at her lacrosse tournament, but I figured Tomoe might be free. She was, and she was willing to help out, but she invited me along as well. I probably should have said no, but one of the problems of rebuilding your social confidence is that you sometimes do stupid things like agree to go out with friends. I'm not going to repeat what happened because I know some people at school read this, but suffice it to say it was weird on whole new levels I didn't even know existed. I'll admit it was fun, despite Suiseiseki. Just don't ever ask me to do it again. I don't want to make a habit out of it. Tomoe enjoyed herself as well. It's not often you get to see her smile, she's pretty stoic. Anyway, it's late now and I really need some sleep.

6 comments

Oh come on! You have to tell us what you did! - S. Onota

Did you just go out on a date with Kashiwaba? - K. Itō

You guys were great! I'll let you know how it turns out, m'kay? Soooo cute ... - M. Kusabue

I did have fun, thanks Jun. Maybe you _should_ make a habit of it; it's not often I see you smile either. - T. Kashiwaba

Jun Sakurada has a blog? No way! And yes, he totally has a crush on Tomoe, it's so obvious. - T. Tsuzuki

Well he might be disappointed, I'm pretty sure Kashiwaba is gay ... - M. Kitagawa

**# **WAITING

I can't believe what I'm about to write. Tomoe is in hospital, in a _coma_. I went to see her earlier today. Apparently she went to sleep last night and didn't wake up the following morning. The Doctors couldn't do anything to help, they couldn't even say what was wrong with her. When I visited her, I bumped into Suigintou of all people! I first thought it was her fault; this was just the kind of dirty trick she'd pull. It wasn't her though, it was that Kirakishou again. Is there nothing that freak won't stoop to? She wants to force me to choose between Tomoe and Shinku, and gave me until midnight tonight to make up my mind. To hell with that, who does she think she is? Luckily for me Suigintou did an about turn and actually offered to help out. She says she has some kind of plan to save Tomoe without dealing with Kirakishou. I'm going back to the hospital tonight to see if she's telling the truth or not. In the meantime I just have to sit and wait. I hate this. Tomoe's safety hinges on us _trusting_ Suigintou. I don't hate her as much as Suiseiseki obviously does, but even I can see that it's a shaky plan.

5 comments

Didn't understand a word of that. - S. Onota

What do you mean choose between Shinku and Tomoe? Who's this Shinku? And who the heck is Kirakishou? She sounds dangerous, shouldn't you tell the police about her? - M. Kitagawa

WHAT? Tomoe is in hospital? You're kidding! I'm going to go see her. - T. Tsuzuki

Oh no, that's awful! Do you need any help Jun? - M. Kusabue

No thanks, it's probably safer if you and Kanaria steer clear for now. - J. Sakurada

**# **ALL'S WELL

Phew. What a night. It's late and I'm exhausted, but I wanted to get this down before I went to sleep. Tomoe is fine. Suigintou's plan worked (just don't ask me what it was), but Kirakishou had set a trap for us. We'd have been screwed if Barasuishou hadn't showed up at the eleventh hour and saved our asses. I don't know why she's suddenly on our side after everything that happened last year, but I'm not going to complain. Maybe Rozen knew what he was doing when he brought her back after all. We don't have to worry about Kirakishou pulling any more stunts like this again either, not after Barasuishou stole Lempicka from her. That's a weight off my mind. The Doctors checked Tomoe over and gave her a clean bill of health. They're going to keep her in for observation for the next day or so. I'm just glad everything worked out. Well, sort of. I managed to really upset Shinku, Suiseiseki made that clear in no uncertain terms. I'm going to have to talk to her tomorrow and tell her ... what? I don't know. I'm so tired I can't think straight. Maybe I'll know what to say to her tomorrow. I hope so. If what Suiseiseki said is true ...

3 comments

Thank goodness. I was really worried there. I still don't understand all this stuff about Suigintou and Kirakishou, but as long as Tomoe is okay then it doesn't matter. Maybe I'll pay you a visit and get you to explain it all to me sometime? - T. Tsuzuki

Wow. This is like reading an adventure. If it weren't for the fact that Kashiwaba and that Kusabue lady seem to know what you're talking about, I'd think this was all made up. Kashiwaba really is in hospital though, isn't she? Yikes, that Kirakishou sounds frightening. - K. Itō

I did some reading on these Rozen Maiden online. Apparently they _are_ dolls, but they're some kind of mythical living dolls made by a master artisan named Rozen. I checked through some of your earlier posts and you said you've had contact with Rozen! The guy's supposed to be hundreds of years old! Are you saying he's real? You mentioned Enju as well. That was the craftsman that owned the doll shop last year. I stopped by there once with Tomoe, and it had the most lifelike dolls I've ever seen. One things for sure, these dolls you're talking about are no animatronics. I can't believe Tomoe knew about this and never told me. - T. Tsuzuki

**# **NEW POST 10

Shinku's gone.


	11. EP3: My Valentine

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE 3

My Valentine

* * *

Shinku sipped her tea and wrinkled her nose at the taste. She sighed and lowered the cup, wondering not for the first time if she'd made the right decision. Despite her frequent chastising of Jun's tea making skills, the truth was he could make a very good cup of tea. He'd certainly had enough practice at it since she had shown up in his life. Now, two days after leaving the Sakurada house, Shinku missed Jun's tea.

"Don't you like it?" asked Mitsu, worry creeping into her voice. Shinku closed her eyes.

"It is fine, thank you Miss Micchan."

That was a lie, but Shinku didn't feel like berating her for her poor quality tea. She was a guest in Micchan's house after all. No covenant existed between them because she had foolishly forgotten to end her contract with Jun before leaving. He was still technically her Medium, which meant that she could not enter another covenant as long as he lived. An oversight, and an unfortunate one at that. Still, she would not go back there simply to correct that mistake. She did not have the strength to leave a second time.

She had come here to stay with Kanaria and her Medium because she still needed someone to wind her, and Micchan was certainly friendly towards dolls. Her house was packed full of them. The last time Shinku was here she had been with her sisters. She had come to pose for Mitsu, much as Jun had recently done for her. Shinku could even see pictures of that time framed around the apartment. Hinaichigo and Souseiseki were in some of them, reminding her of what she still had to do.

"I'm going to be late for work!" Mitsu jumped up and grabbed her coat, "I'll see you ladies later, okay?"

Kanaria bid her master a good day while Shinku placed her unfinished tea on the table. After several long moments of silence she realised that Kanaria was watching her. She glanced up.

"Yes?"

"Umm, well, today is Valentine's day, y'know?"

"Is it? I hadn't realised."

"Well ... Kana was going to make chocolates for Micchan, and I was wondering if maybe you wanted to join me and make some yourself? For someone special to you, y'know?"

She fell silent under Shinku's intense stare. "Whatever for?" she said eventually. Kanaria wrung her hands together nervously.

"Don't you have anyone you want to give chocolates to today?"

Shinku considered the question. If she'd still been at the Sakurada house then yes, she certainly would have. She could even imagine herself struggling in the kitchen under Suiseiseki's auspices, trying to pour her feelings into a deliciously creamy selection of homemade chocolate. And making a terrible mess of it in the process. She could hear her sister's voice as she looked on in dismay.

_"I swear Shinku, you're so completely hopeless when it comes to the culinary art. These chocolates are meant to show your love, not poison the poor sap!"_

Shinku slid off the couch and headed for the mirror, not bothering to answer Kanaria's question. The mirror glowed as she neared it, opening a portal into the N-Field. Kanaria let out a worried moan.

"You ... you're going out looking again, aren't you?" she asked.

"Indeed I am."

Kanaria clenched her teeth and her hands, trying to steel herself for what she was about to do and regretting it already. She took a step towards Shinku, a somewhat hesitant look of determination on her cherubic features. "Then ... Kana's coming with you, y'hear!"

Shinku glanced across at her, mildly surprised. "I thought you were going to make chocolates for Miss Micchan."

"I can make them for her tomorrow, she won't mind them being late. Besides, I know why you're doing this; Hinaichigo and Souseiseki are my sisters too, y'know? I can help, Shinku. I _am_ the brainiest of the Rozen Maiden after all!"

Shinku looked back at the brightly glowing mirror and sighed. "As you wish."

* * *

Jun poked at his food with his fork whilst leaning his head against his hand in a vaguely bored fashion. It wasn't that the food was bad, far from it. Nori had done her very best and made their favourite - flower topped hamburgers. She'd done this in the hopes that he might actually eat something today. It was a vain hope. She watched him stirring his food and wailed.

"Oh Jun-kun, won't you at least try a little?"

"I'm not hungry."

"But you have to eat something! You've barely touched your food since-" Nori stopped abruptly, not wanting to mention the incident that had brought about his sour mood. Suiseiseki eyed Jun's flower topped hamburger with optimism.

"If you're not going to eat that then would you mind if I had it?" she asked hopefully. Jun set his fork down and pushed the plate towards her.

"Knock yourself out," he said glumly. As Suiseiseki greedily tucked in to his untouched meal, Jun got up from the table and walked away. Nori watched him go, her eyes filled with concern for her little brother.

"Jun-kun ..."

"He is upset because Shinku left, is he not?" said Barasuishou. Nori glanced around at her and rubbed the side of her head.

"Pretty much, yeah. Oh, this is all my fault! Shinku told me days ago that she was thinking of leaving. I made her promise to talk to Jun first if she did decide to go, but I should have said something to him."

Suiseiseki snorted. "Don't beat yourself up about it Nori, it's as much Jun's fault as it is anyone's."

Nori gave her a shocked look. "What? Don't say that! It isn't Jun's fault."

"Oh it so is!" Suiseiseki growled and stabbed her recently acquired hamburger with a knife, "I told that puny human to talk to Shinku and sort things out. Maybe if he wasn't so busy making eyes at that Tomoe girl then Shinku would still be here!"

Nori sagged, her own eyes downcast. "Jun can't help the way he feels. All boys his age start to show an interest in girls, and Tomoe's been really nice to him. If only Shinku had talked to him, told him how she felt ..."

Barasuishou shook her head. "I do not believe that would have changed anything. Did you not read the letter she left? Shinku wants Jun to be happy."

Suiseiseki crossed her arms in a sulking fashion, thoroughly annoyed. "I so don't get that at all! I thought we _were _making the little runt happy. Say what you like, but he's a big improvement over what he used to be when we first showed up. Besides, those two have always had mushy feelings for each other, it's so obvious. Just what is Shinku thinking?"

"I guess ... maybe she's thinking of the future," Nori suggested, thinking it over herself even as she said the words, "Jun's growing up, and someday he might want to settle down and get married, maybe even start a family. He couldn't really do that stuff with Shinku, but he could with someone like Tomoe."

Suiseiseki seemed scandalised. She stared wide-eyed in disbelief at Nori. "That's so totally selfish! What about the things Shinku wants? Don't they matter at all? Anyway, Jun might not want to do any of that stuff - not all you humans do. I mean just look at Kanaria's Medium. She's a grown woman and all she cares about are dolls. She spoils that big forehead rotten and you don't see her swooning over men wanting to get hitched. For all we know Jun could be the same."

"I guess ..."

Barasuishou pushed her chair away from the dinner table and lightly dropped to the ground. She'd taken no more than a single step when Suiseiseki's shrill voice stopped her.

"And just where do you think you're going?"

"Nowhere in particular," Barasuishou answered evenly, "Why?"

Suiseiseki stood up on her chair and pointed at the kitchen sink. "Because you're so going to help Suiseiseki do the dishes, that's why. Father may have asked Jun to take care of you, but you're going to pull your weight while you're here! Is that clear?"

Barasuishou frowned. "Pull my ... weight?"

"Really?" Nori perked up a little, "Thanks guys! That's a big help. That means I can go to the store before it closes and pick some things up for tomorrow."

The two dolls watched her leave. Suiseiseki abruptly banged her palm down on the table, causing the cutlery to rattle. "Right you good for nothing slacker, time to get to work! You can start by collecting the dishes."

"Collecting the dishes ..." Barasuishou stared blankly at them, not moving. Suiseiseki ground her teeth together.

"Stop that!"

"Stop?"

"That! Stop repeating everything I say! I swear, you're so totally annoying. Did anyone ever tell you that you have all the personality of a brick?"

Barasuishou actually considered the question seriously for a moment before answering. "Yes. Shirosaki said something to that effect. My father agreed with him."

"Oh," Suiseiseki stalled for a moment, momentarily at a loss. "Well then, here's your chance to prove them wrong. I'm going to make it my mission to teach you to express yourself better. Honestly, sometimes you remind me of Souseiseki. She could be so infuriatingly passive all the time ..."

* * *

Jun was in the darkened storeroom, alone. He sat cross-legged in front of the big mirror, staring at it as if doing so might make Shinku reappear. It didn't, but he continued to sit there anyway, feeling completely and utterly lost. Shinku had _left_ him. And it was his fault. His stupid inability to make a decision had driven her away. Recent events had only served to hammer home his complete indecisiveness.

_Of course_ he loved Shinku. He had for a long time now. It was just impossible to show her any kind of affection without being openly mocked or humiliated by her for doing so. That was just her way, but lately he'd gotten fed up with it. It was difficult to tell how the doll herself felt about him either. She displayed more warmth and fondness towards _Kunkun_ than she did for him. It wasn't until Suiseiseki had outright told him that Shinku was in love with him that he'd actually known for sure, and by then ... it was too late.

Tomoe only made matters worse. He loved Shinku because they'd spent so much time together and been through so much. But with Tomoe ... it had taken him a while to realise that he was attracted to her. She was a pretty, normal human girl from his class who showed continued interest and kindness towards him. He'd have to be inhuman _not_ to feel something for her. It was even more obvious to everyone else, with Nori and his fellow classmates pointing out his crush for her long before he'd accepted it himself.

How could he make any kind of choice? He loved Shinku with all his heart, but confessing as much to her was a risk he was too afraid to take. Even if she returned his feelings the two of them faced a very uncertain future, something that had fuelled Shinku's decision to leave in the end. She wasn't blind to the fact that she was a doll. Really, it would be so much easier to just ask Tomoe out on a date. Give up on Shinku and try to have a normal relationship. The problem was ...

... he'd never forgive himself if he did that. Even if years down the line he ended up marrying Tomoe, or some other girl, he'd regret it for the rest of his life. He just knew it.

"Ohhhh!" Jun clutched his head and screwed his eyes shut again. He'd gone over all of this a thousand times already, and no matter how he looked at it it was all messed up. He was no closer to straightening anything out in his head, and right now he missed Shinku so much it _hurt_. He wanted to see her again. He wanted her to tell him to make the tea, and stop being so vexing and stubborn. He even wanted her to calmly walk up to him and slap him across the face. He missed her that much.

He reached around and pulled the letter from his back pocket, the letter Shinku had left behind. It was folded up. He didn't need to open it, he knew the words it contained by heart. He'd read it often enough. He clutched it tightly and fought the urge to tear the thing up into tiny pieces.

"Shinku ..." he whispered.

The doorbell rang. Jun scowled. Nori had gone out five minutes ago. He was either going to have to leave it or answer the door himself. He briefly considered the former, but opted for the latter instead when the doorbell rang again. Taking a deep steadying breath, he stood and shoved the letter back into his pocket.

Jun opened the front door, and standing there was possibly the last person he needed to see right now.

"Hi Jun," said Tomoe.

He stood there like a complete idiot, not saying a word. Tomoe waited patiently, holding a small potted plant in her hands, and had a bag slung over one shoulder. Finally Jun recovered his wits and stood aside to let her in, rubbing the back of his neck as he did so.

"Uh, hi, come on in. I thought you were still in hospital."

Tomoe shook her head as he shut the door behind her. "I got out yesterday. My parents wanted the doctors to run all kinds of tests on me, but I convinced them I was fine," she noticed his questioning gaze directed at the plant and started, "Oh! I brought this for Suiseiseki. To say thanks for all she did. They're white lilies. My favourites. I hope she likes them."

"They're nice, I'm sure she will," said Jun, his voice bordering on deadpan, "She's in the kitchen. Do you want me to get her?"

"Actually," Tomoe set the plant down carefully and reached into her bag, "I came to see you. Here," she withdrew an ornately decorative box and presented it to Jun. He blinked in surprise and took it from her. "Happy Valentine's," she added.

Jun froze. He felt certain his spine had actually turned to ice and that was why chills were shooting through his extremities right now. Chocolates. She'd given him chocolates. On Valentines Day. It _was_ Valentines Day today. February 14th. He'd completely forgotten. "T-thanks," he stuttered, "Really, you shouldn't have."

Tomoe frowned and leaned her head towards him in a mock-serious fashion. "Jun, you saved my soul from certain destruction. I think it's the least I could do."

Jun blushed fiercely. Why? Surely he should be used to such utter embarrassment by now. One would think. He stared down at the box and mumbled incoherently as Tomoe leaned back.

"Suigintou told me what happened," she said. The ice was all gone now, replaced instead with molten lava. Oh god, thought Jun, she _knows_. That damn Suigintou. Of course she would take the opportunity to rub salt in the wound. Tomoe had been confined to bed in hospital for days while they kept her under observation. She would have had plenty of time to talk to that rotten evil doll.

"Yeah, about that, I'm really sorry. There wasn't any other way," Jun insisted, staring at the wall directly behind Tomoe without actually looking at her, "I swear I wouldn't have done it unless I had to."

"Oh," Tomoe seemed disappointed for a moment, "Really? I didn't realize I was such a bad kisser. In my defence it was my first time and I was unconscious, so ..."

Please. Someone kill me. Now. Oh please. "N-no! I didn't mean it like that!" Jun was radiating so much heat now he was amazed the wallpaper didn't catch fire. He pressed a hand to his face and groaned. Tomoe giggled, which only made him feel worse.

"I just wanted to thank you Jun, that's all. I owe you my life."

"Not really," Jun said as he lowered his hand and grimaced. He decided to just let the lava that had replaced his blood gently simmer and melt his brain into slush. It was no use fighting the inevitable. "It was Suigintou's idea, and Suiseiseki did most of the work. Barasuishou helped out a lot as well. I didn't really contribute much. Look, I'll go tell the others you're here, you can thank them instead."

Tomoe watched him enter the living room. As she waited she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. It was a piece of folded up paper on the floor. It must have fallen out of Jun's pocket. She knelt down and picked it up. Curiosity getting the better of her, she unfolded and read it.

_Jun ... there is so much I want to say to you, yet I know I should not. Sometimes things are better left unsaid. I have decided to leave. I cannot stay with you any longer._

_Before I asked you who you would choose, and now I realise that the answer does not matter. It does not matter if you would choose me over Tomoe, because I have come to the conclusion that you are better off without me. You deserve a normal, happy life, and that is something I cannot give you, for I am not human._

_When first we met I made you swear to protect and serve me. I hereby release you from that pledge. I wish you well in all your endeavours. Please take good care of Suiseiseki, and know that you will always hold a special place in my heart._

_I love you._

_-Shinku_

Jun emerged from the living room with Suiseiseki and Barasuishou in tow, only to find that there was no sign of Tomoe. The front door was ajar. Suiseiseki spotted the lilies and picked the plant up, gazing at it in admiration while Jun scratched his head. "That's weird, she was right here a minute ago," he said. Barasuishou bent down and picked up Shinku's letter. It was unfolded. She held it out towards Jun, who took it and stared at it in mute shock. He patted his back pocket and then groaned loudly.

"Oh no ..."


	12. EP3: Red Queen

Sorry if this isn't a very good chapter, I have a nasty head cold and I feel yucky. Next chapter should be the last part of episode 3 (yeah, I know, I said that about episode 2). Eh, I wish I had someone to tuck me in and make some chicken soup. Incidentally, Lemsips don't work and taste awful. Just saying.

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE 3

Red Queen

* * *

"Stay close now," Shinku warned, prompting Kanaria to drift nearer to her as the two dolls sailed through the inky darkness. Doors surrounded them on all sides, each door opening into another world within the N-Field. Even though Kanaria was trembling with fright she was no more scared than Shinku was. Indeed Shinku had advised her sister to come closer as much to make herself feel safer as to bolster Kanaria's flagging confidence.

Shinku did not like the dark, although she could cope with it. Yet what she hated was the very thing she was currently seeking out - Laplace no Ma. The eerie figure was an altogether disturbing enigma wrapped in a riddle of his own devising. His actions seldom made any sense, and his words even less so. His motives and origins were anyone's guess. And unless Shinku was very much mistaken, he currently held in his possession the Rosa Mystica of her two lifeless sisters, Hinaichigo and Souseiseki. Kirakishou had hinted as much during their first confrontation.

_If Rosa Mystica you seek, then follow the white rabbit ..._

Shinku had postponed following up on that vital clue for the simple reason that it would invariably result in a confrontation with the trickster rabbit, and that was not a prospect she envied. When she did find Laplace, she doubted he would simply hand the Rosa Mystica over to her.

"Ohhh, I feel like he's watching us y'know?" Kanaria whimpered, turning her head this way and that, as if expecting to see a pair of demonic red eyes peering out of the darkness at her. Shinku scowled.

"I suspect that he is," she remarked sourly, "He is obviously hiding himself in order to toy with us."

"A very astute observation, my lady," said Laplace. Kanaria let out a strangled squeal and together the dolls spun around to see him standing beside one of the doors. Shinku floated herself protectively in front of Kanaria.

"It is the height of ill manners to keep a lady waiting," Shinku said icily. Laplace bowed low, his expression completely inscrutable.

"And patience is a virtue worthy of a doll who seeks to become Alice," he countered, standing upright. "You have come to recover what was taken from you during the Alice game."

"Indeed I have."

"Then the time for merry mischief to begin has arrived at last," he said, gesturing to the door beside him. The door swung open, though they could see only darkness beyond. "Prey enter, and let the festivities commence ..."

Even though Shinku was merely listening to him talk and thus could not _see_ his words, she was certain he had used the word 'prey' instead of 'pray'. Precisely how she could tell this she did not know, but the general feeling of uneasiness that swept over her may have had something to do with it. Kanaria tugged at her dress.

"Shinku, I really think this is a bad idea. Maybe we should go back and make chocolates after all?"

Shinku narrowed her eyes and steeled herself. "We must proceed. Hinaichigo and Souseiseki are counting on us. I will not fail them. I will not fail father."

"Spoken like a true Rozen Maiden," said Laplace.

With great reluctance they passed through the door and into the darkness beyond. The door shut behind them and then there was nothing but the heavy, oppressive blackness all around them. Shinku felt the tips of her shoes brush against something and let herself drop. She landed on something solid, and the instant she did so the ground beneath her feet lit up. It was a chequered floor, with alternating squares of black and white, polished to a glossy smooth finish. Shinku and Kanaria were standing at the edge of it, and it stretched out before them making a perfect square. Laplace appeared at the opposite edge, hands folded behind his back.

"Will you hand over my sisters Rosa Mystica?" Shinku called out, growing increasingly annoyed by these theatrics.

"All in good time," he replied, his nose twitching slightly, "First a little light entertainment to amuse this humble spectator."

He extended one of his arms and snapped his fingers. In the blink of an eye dozens of statues materialised out of nothingness, surrounding Shinku and Kanaria, all of them the same deep crimson as Shinku's dress. It took her a moment to notice that an identical set of statues had appeared around Laplace as well, however those were as white as his fur. Kanaria gasped in surprise and clutched Shinku's arm tightly.

It was a chess board, Shinku realised. They were standing on a giant chessboard and the statues were the playing pieces. She recognised the pattern of the designs. A row of Pawns were arrayed on the squares in front of them, each about a few inches shorter than Shinku herself. On either side stood somewhat taller Bishops, and beside them were the Knights. She glanced down at herself and then at Kanaria, thinking it over. Given their positions, that would make her the Queen and Kanaria the King. Hmph. She didn't know what to make of that. Across the giant board Laplace was standing in the place of the white King. The Queen next to him was a statue piece, however.

"Shinku, what's going on? What is this?" Kanaria asked, somewhat slower on the uptake.

"It appears that we must win this game in order to procure our sisters lost Rosa Mystica. So be it."

Traditionally the white player had the first move, and sure enough Laplace gestured with a hand, as if conducting music. One of his Pawns slid forwards.

"The opening move has been made. Will you reply?"

Shinku lifted her hand into the air and unleashed a flurry of red rose petals, which shot into her equally red pieces and caused them all to glow momentarily. With an elegant gesture she stirred one of her Pawns forwards, mirroring Laplace's move.

The game continued for several minutes, Shinku concentrating intently while Kanaria stood and watched, more than willing to let her sister call the shots. Chess was a game she knew little about. It was about ten or so moves in when the first piece was taken. One of Laplace's Knights moved onto a square occupied by one of Shinku's Pawns. When the two pieces came into contact with each other, the Pawn exploded violently into a thousand jagged shards. One of the fragments rolled to a stop at Shinku's foot. She stared down at it and watched as it evaporated into nothing.

"Ahhh! What ... what was that?" Kanaria exclaimed, tapping the tips of her fingers together in alarm. Shinku glared across the board at Laplace. If the rabbit could smile, he was doing so now.

"An element of risk adds flavour to otherwise dull proceedings," he said by way of an explanation. Whatever his words, the meaning was clear. To win back the two lost Rosa Mystica Shinku and Kanaria would have to put their own Rosa Mystica on the line.

The game had just turned deadly.

* * *

Tomoe slipped through the doors of the old church, the soft warm light of the setting sun spilling across the crumbling stonework like bright honey. She advanced down the aisle towards the altar at the end, pausing only to adjust the shinai case slung over her shoulder. As she stopped before the altar, the black winged figure there stood and turned to regard her.

"Well this is a surprise," said Suigintou, her tone suggesting that this was in fact so, "I must confess I did not expect to see you here. How did you find me?"

"I went to the hospital and asked Megu where you might be," answered Tomoe, her face carefully neutral. It was an expression she was good at. Suigintou folded her arms and smirked.

"Well this ought to be good. I honestly cannot imagine what you might want with _me_. Unless you came to chat."

"I need your help," said Tomoe, "I have to find Shinku."

Suigintou frowned. "Something must have happened, otherwise you wouldn't be asking. I take it she is not at Jun's?"

"She left him. Wrote a letter saying that he was better off without her."

A sick grin spread across Suigintou's face and she clasped her hands together as if this was the best news she'd had all day. It was. "How marvelous. Who would have thought that dear Shinku would listen to my advice. I must say, I'm shocked. Pleasantly so."

"How can you say that?" Tomoe snapped, her normally passive tone breaking, "Jun needs Shinku. And she needs him. This is ..." she stared at the altar Suigintou was standing on, her gaze unfocused, distant, "This is my fault. I wanted to be close to Jun because I thought he needed a friend. I didn't want him to drop out of school again."

"Is that the only reason?" Suigintou asked, ever ready to poke and prod at someone's discomfort. Tomoe winced.

"No, I ... I wanted to be close to Jun ... the way we used to be close when we were children. It never occurred to me that I might be driving a wedge between Jun and Shinku ..." she blinked and fixed her gaze upon Suigintou once more, "I'm at least partly to blame for her leaving him. I have find her, talk to her. Convince her to go back to Jun."

Suigintou tilted her head to one side and frowned again, puzzled. "Why? Surely this is better for you. Now you can have Jun all for yourself. You don't have to worry about Shinku getting in the way. Isn't that what you wanted?"

Tomoe gasped, her face revealing her pain at Suigintou's words. "No! Jun loves Shinku very much. Her leaving will only hurt him. She's the reason he got better, came back to school. Without her he might go back to the way he was; hiding away in his room, not talking to anyone. Ordering things online for no reason and yelling at his sister. I hated seeing him like that, I couldn't stand seeing it again."

Suigintou snorted and sat herself down to get more comfortable. "As hopelessly pathetic as that boy is, maybe you're giving him too little credit. He's stronger now than he was then. Give him time. He'll soon forget all about Shinku and the two of you can go about your business as you humans do."

Tomoe reached up and gripped the strap of her shinai case, her face hardening. "I didn't come here to argue with you. I'm going to find Shinku and I want your help."

"What makes you think I will give it?" Suigintou said, chuckling. "I don't feel particularly inclined to. If Shinku wishes to leave Jun and find herself a new master then that's her business, not mine."

Tomoe slipped her case off and opened it, revealing not a wooden training sword but the real thing. She dropped the case on the ground and gripped the hilt of the short sword, narrowing her eyes as she did so. "In that case Suigintou, I challenge you to a duel. If I win you will help me find Shinku."

Suigintou sneered at her with unconcealed disdain. "How positively absurd! Me, fight a human? Don't make me laugh. You are no Rozen Maiden and you have no right to challenge me, you silly girl."

There was a flicker of movement as Tomoe drew her sword and slashed at Suigintou. The doll jerked back and floated above and behind the altar, a look of shocked anger showing plainly on her face. A single strand of her silvery-white hair landed on the ground at Tomoe's feet. Suigintou ground her teeth together.

"That was a _very_ stupid mistake. Attack me will you?" she extended her hand and summoned her own sword, "It seems I will have to teach you a lesson you wont soon forget!"

* * *

Suiseiseki stomped into the living room, her tiny hands curled tightly into fists. "I swear, that human can be so inconsiderate sometimes. What does he think, running off like that and leaving me here all by myself!" She spun angrily around and found herself nose to nose with Barasuishou, who had been following right behind her. She let out a startled cry and backpeddled a few steps before recovering her composure. "Hey! There's such a thing as personal space you creepy yellow-eyed thing, you!"

Barasuishou stared at her, seemingly unmoved by her insults, which only served to infuriate Suiseiseki even more. She leaned forwards and snarled at the Enju doll. "What's the big idea? You could at least have the decency to act offended when someone calls you a creepy yellow-eyed thing!"

"Why? They are only words," Barasuishou replied calmly. In a fit of anger Suiseiseki reached out and grabbed her by the ruffles of her dress. She shook her back and forth and yelled loudly.

"I have so had it up to here with you, you insufferable irritating mellow-headed freak, you! Show some damn feelings, we're not robots we're dolls! I swear, if you don't laugh or cry or slap me I am so going to shake you into a thousand tiny pieces!"

Barasuishou's eyes suddenly went wide. Suiseiseki stopped shaking her and stared as her body jerked convulsively. When the Gardener released her, she gave one final jerk and fell backwards, hitting the carpeted floor with a muffled thump. Suiseiseki's hands flew to her mouth and she peered at Barasuishou with horror.

"Ahh! I ... I didn't mean to hurt you! I was just annoyed, that's all, I swear!" She knelt down beside Barasuishou and shook her again, this time more gently. "Hey! Wake up you! If this is your idea of a joke it is so not funny you hear!"

A thought occurred to her then. She stopped shaking Barasuishou as her eyes sparkled with the sudden revelation. "Oh! You've just wound down, haven't you?" She gazed down at the unmoving doll, who did not reply. Suiseiseki frowned and tapped a finger against her chin. "That's right, you have to be wound up just like us Rozen Maiden. Until then ..." her eyes glinted mischievously, "... you can't do anything. Ha! I can so do whatever I want with you and there's nothing you can do about it!"

She rubbed her hands together with glee, a wide grin rapidly spreading across her impish face. Where should she start? She could grab a marker pen and draw a moustache on her face. Hmm. No, that was far too childish. Perhaps she should lock her in her case and throw her in the sea? Better, but she had no idea how to get to the ocean without being seen by all the humans.

Suiseiseki was struck by a moment of sudden empathy then, and stopped rubbing her hands together as a twinge of guilt made itself felt. It wasn't very nice to take advantage of a doll when she was wound down, even if that doll wasn't a Rozen Maiden. Most dolls couldn't move at all and that meant humans could do whatever they wanted with them, whenever they wanted. If she messed around with Barasuishou like this, she'd be no better than those humans that pulled dolls apart and such for fun. Besides, she was sure Barasuishou did actually have feelings, even if she was completely hopeless at showing them in everyday life. If she did pull some cruel prank on her at a time like this, it would hurt her.

Suiseiseki sighed. "Oh geez, when did I suddenly become so thoughtful and considerate?" She stared at Barasuishou for a long moment before giving another, longer sigh. "I guess I better go and get your key. Count yourself lucky I'm in a generous mood, you big freak, you."

She retrieved Barasuishou's key from her case in Jun's room and brought it back down into the living room. Feeling slightly weirded out at having to wind another doll up, Suiseiseki knelt in front of her and pulled her forwards. She reached around and inserted the key into the tiny hole in Barasuishou's back and turned it, the mechanism clicking with each wind. Barasuishou jerked in her arms. She removed the key as the white-haired doll flared with a bright glowing nimbus of light and started to move once more, this time more fluidly. Suiseiseki set the key down on the floor and held Barasuishou at arms length as the dolls eyes slowly opened.

"Wake up sleepy head, we still have dishes to do."

Barasuishou's eyes opened fully and fixed upon Suiseiseki. She continued to glow with a soft inner light, her hair fluttering as if blown by an ethereal breeze. She suddenly cupped her hands around Suiseiseki's face and leaned in close to kiss her. Suiseiseki's eyes went wide with shock. She frantically thought about shoving Barasuishou away but her arms stubbornly refused to co-operate, and she had to wait until the Enju doll stopped and leaned back.

"..." said Suiseiseki. Barasuishou smiled as her glowing aura faded. She brushed her fingertips lightly across Suiseiseki's cheek, prompting the Gardener to screw her eyes shut and shake her head from side to side.

"What the heck was that?" Suiseiseki demanded, finding her voice at last. Barasuishou giggled quietly.

"I was expressing myself. I thought that was what you wanted."

Suiseiseki realised that she was still holding Barasuishou and promptly let go of her. She shuffled back across the carpet, away from her, struggling to locate her normal repertoire of insults to cover her sudden embarrassment. Her mind had gone completely blank, which for her was a first. Barasuishou leaned her hands on the floor in front of her and watched Suiseiseki for a moment before speaking.

"I wanted to thank you. For winding me."

Suiseiseki pressed her hands against the sides of her head. "You could have just said! I so did not need that!" She struggled to her feet and made straight for the door, shaking her head repeatedly as if denial would help erase the incident from her mind. Barasuishou watched her go, feeling thoroughly confused. She reached up and covered her left eye with her hand, but it just wasn't the same.

* * *

Tomoe was forced to back up and give ground under the relentless flurry of blows unleashed upon her by the enraged doll. Suigintou came at her like a demon possessed, striking again and again. There was little technique involved but a great deal of speed, and it was only Tomoe's practiced reflexes that kept her safe at all.

She lashed out with an attack of her own, hoping to stall Suigintou's momentum. The Rozen Maiden darted to the side, evading the attack and positioning herself to strike at Tomoe's flank. Tomoe had to twist around and bring her sword up to deflect the swift counter attack.

When she blocked another of Suigintou's blows, Tomoe pushed the blade of her sword forwards, shoving Suigintou's weapon back at her. This caught the doll momentarily off guard, and Tomoe was able to use the surprise to release one hand from the hilt of her sword and grab Suigintou's arm. She yanked the arm down and slid the blade of her sword up and across, hoping to slip it past her opponents defences. It might have worked had Suigintou's wings not swept down and knocked her sideways.

The two combatants separated. Tomoe backed up and changed her stance while Suigintou hovered several feet away, her sword lowered, her posture casual. She smirked.

"That was quite impressive. For a human. Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"My father taught me," said Tomoe, not letting her guard down. Suigintou's mouth opened a fraction, surprised by her answer. Her superior smirk soon returned however and she dismissed her sword.

"I could kill you with little effort, but that would only upset _my_ father," she said, "I suppose I shall go easy on you today and let you off with a warning; don't challenge me again unless you truly wish to give up your life."

"Will you help me?" Tomoe pressed, still not lowering her sword. Suigintou waved absentmindedly at her and turned away.

"If I must. I will help you find Shinku, but after that you are on your own. I have no intention of convincing her to return to that boyfriend of yours."

Tomoe finally relaxed and retrieved the scabbard for her sword. She sheathed it as Suigintou summoned her artificial spirit, the tiny point of violet light bobbing around her head.

"Now Meimei, I have a task for you. I want you to take me to Shinku ..."

* * *

Jun stopped at the street corner and leaned on his knees, huffing for breath. He was badly out of shape. True he had returned to school, but he still spent most of his time sitting down studying or perched in front of his computer. Honestly though, he'd never been that fit to begin with. He should really consider doing something to fix that.

In the meantime he couldn't find Tomoe anywhere. He'd rushed out the door in the hopes of catching up to her, but he must have made a wrong turn somewhere and gone in completely the wrong direction. She was nowhere to be seen. The only thing left to try was her house, but he didn't really feel like knocking on her door and explaining to her parents that he wanted to see her. Especially if she was upset.

Was she? He didn't have a clue. He didn't even know why she'd suddenly run out the door. Obviously she'd read Shinku's letter after it had fallen out of his pocket, but even knowing what that letter said Jun couldn't begin to guess how Tomoe might react.

Jun stood upright, the pain in his chest slowly disappearing. What was he doing? Even if he did manage to catch up to her what would he have said? He was still stunned by the fact that she'd given him chocolates, today of all days. Why had she done that? Was it just to say thanks for saving her from Kirakishou? If so she could have given him a gift any time, or even simply told him she was grateful. Chocolates on Valentines day though ... he'd known Tomoe for as long as he could remember, and she'd never done that before.

"Oh man, what a stupid mess this is," Jun lamented. He leaned his arm against a nearby lamppost and his head against his arm, wondering what the heck he was going to do now. Go home, lock his bedroom door and crawl into bed. Maybe Kirakishou would do him a favour and put _him_ in a coma so he wouldn't have to do anything ever again. It was a sure sign of how stressed he was that he actually considered that to be an attractive option.

Dusk was rapidly fading and taking the last of the light with it, and so it caught Jun's attention when a bright light buzzed around his head. He frowned and peered at it, recognising it at once as a Rozen Maiden's artificial spirit. It was purple. So ... who's was it again?

"Over there," said a familiar voice. Jun pulled away from the lamppost and searched around for the speaker. To his utter astonishment it was Tomoe. She was standing across the road, pointing at him. To make matters even more bizarre, Suigintou was hovering at head height beside her. Jun blinked and did a double take.

"Huh? Tomoe?"

The pair crossed the deserted road and approached him while Meimei continued to whiz around his head, as if highlighting him with a halo. Suigintou scowled.

"No Meimei, I wanted you to find Shinku, not her Medium," she scolded, treating Jun to a scathing look. Tomoe stopped before him, her face showing her typically passive expression. Jun gaped at her.

"Tomoe ... what the heck is going on?"

"Jun, I read the letter. Why didn't you tell me Shinku had left you?"

Jun opened and shut his mouth several times, doing a good impression of a fish in the process. With no immediate answer to give her, he turned his attention to Suigintou instead and pointed accusingly at her. "Hey, just what do you think you're doing? Someone might see you!"

Suigintou rolled her eyes and floated around to face Tomoe. "You really like this boy?"

"Yes, I do."

"Why, may I ask?"

"Hey!" Jun clenched his hands, "Don't talk about me like I'm not even here!"

Meimei drew everyone's attention by shooting through the air and attaching itself to the rose ring on Jun's finger. It flared brilliantly, alternating between red and purple hues. Jun held the ring up warily. "What the heck? What's it doing?"

"Surely not ..." Suigintou wondered aloud. Jun held his hand away from himself as if he were afraid of it. The ring continued to glow, and a moment later a swirling grey vortex shimmered into sight before them. Suigintou floated in front of it. "I see. Poor, stupid Shinku. She didn't break her covenant with you."

"What are you talking about?" Jun demanded, not following a word. Suigintou crossed her arms and glanced at him over her shoulder.

"You really are a dummy Jun, aren't you? I sent Meimei to find Shinku, and because you are still her Medium my artificial spirit came to you instead. It seems that it was able to use the connection you and Shinku share through the rose ring to locate her."

"You mean ... Shinku's through there?" He pointed at the portal before her. Suigintou said nothing, but she didn't need to, he'd finally figured out what she was talking about. Shinku! He could see her again! "Well what are we waiting for?" Jun moved around Suigintou and threw himself through the portal without a seconds thought, leaving them behind on the street corner. Tomoe moved to stand beside Suigintou.

"That's why," she said, and dived in herself.

"... hmph," said Suigintou, before following her.


	13. EP3: Zugzwang

Woohoo! I have finished episode 3, despite being sick. Take that, evil lurgy cold! The title for this chapter is gratuitous german, and is also a term used in chess. The chess elements were inspired by Through the Looking Glass, which made heavy use of chess as a theme for its story. Seeing as Laplace was meant to be inspired by characters from Alice in Wonderland, I figured why not? I don't know when I'll have episode 4 up, I might wait until I'm better. I'm also waaay behind in my other work. D'oh.

Note: I do not own the Rozen Maiden. However Shinku owns me.

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE 3

Zugzwang

* * *

The endgame had arrived, yet victory was still open to either side. The frequency with which moves were made decreased as the number of pieces left on the board dwindled, and now there could only be a handful of turns remaining before the game was over. Now, looking at the board, Shinku finally saw a way to win. Unfortunately it required a series of moves that Laplace had undoubtedly intended her to make all along.

She would have to sacrifice herself to win the game.

This was his plan. This was what he'd wanted. The whole game was a joke to him, and he'd played her to perfection. Even though he gave nothing away from his alien demeanor, she could tell. He was a puppeteer and she the puppet. She'd danced as he'd pulled her strings. Why? Who knew. Perhaps he found the situation amusing. Perhaps it was to test her resolve to fulfill her father's wish and see just how far she was prepared to go to bring back her lost sisters.

Whatever the reason, Shinku knew what she had to do. Unfortunately, so did Kanaria.

"No Shinku! I know what you're thinking, don't do it!"

Shinku closed her eyes and breathed deeply, trying to find the strength inside herself she would need for what she was about to do. Her cool blue eyes flicked open and she spun on the spot to face Kanaria, trying to convey more confidence to her than she actually felt.

"I must do this Kanaria. It is the only way to win the game."

"No way y'hear!" Kanaria stamped her foot and clenched her hands into trembling fists. She glared at Laplace, who seemed utterly relaxed despite facing defeat. "Stop this you! Stop this right now! We're done playing, okay?"

"The game is not yet finished," he said with infuriating calmness. He regarded Shinku with his unblinking red eyes. "Your move ..."

"Shinku!"

"Enough Kanaria, it is time. You know what you must do - when I move Laplace will be forced to take me. When he does so, advance that Pawn up to the final rank and promote it to Queen. You can checkmate him the following move with ease."

There were tears in the grey-haired dolls eyes, and she sniffed as she struggled to think up an argument to convince Shinku to give up this madness. Nothing came to mind. Her magnificent brain had failed her yet again, and all she could do was watch the final moves unfold, helpless.

"Shinku! Wait!" a voice called out of the darkness. Shinku's eyes went wide and she turned in the direction of the speaker. It was Jun! He was standing on the outskirts of the chessboard, pounding at the air as if there were an invisible wall separating them. Tomoe and Suigintou stood beside him, staring at the life size chessboard with awe.

"Jun ..."

"It appears we have guests," said Laplace, turning to observe the three newcomers. Tomoe gasped as she finally noticed him. It wasn't every day you saw an anthropomorphic talking rabbit in a suit. Next to her, Suigintou was sizing up the chess match with a practiced eye and quickly came to the same conclusion as Kanaria.

"Shinku, you idiot ..." she muttered under her breath. Jun continued to try and force his way onto the board to get to Shinku, but it was no use. He might as well try and walk through a bank vault door for all the good it did.

"Jun, what are you doing here?" Shinku asked, feeling herself well up inside. He shouldn't be here! She didn't want him to see this. It would be better if he simply believed her gone, not broken forever. Kanaria stopped crying and clasped her hands together as a surge of hope coursed through her.

"You guys, you gotta help us! Shinku's going to sacrifice herself so we can win!"

"What?" Jun blinked at her and then turned his attention back on Shinku. "Shinku, don't!"

Kanaria groaned. "That's what I've been trying to tell her. She won't listen dammit!"

Suigintou extended her wings and floated up into the air to get a better look at the board. She frowned as she concentrated, working out each possible move that could be made and the resultant consequences. It didn't take her long to spot the permutation that Shinku had missed. Indeed, she herself would have missed it were it not for her conversation with Megu several days ago. Oh how very ironic, she thought. Megu would laugh when she told her.

"Shinku, listen to me very closely," Suigintou said. Shinku glanced up at her elder sister, still shocked to see them all here. Suigintou gestured at the board. "I can see that you're about to foolishly throw your life away. You really need to stop doing that, it's getting to be an annoying habit of late ..."

"Suigintou ..."

"Listen to your big sister for once and maybe you can make it out of this mess alive. Well Shinku, do you want my help?"

Shinku thought about it. For all of two seconds. She nodded. "Yes."

Suigintou smiled with genuine affection. "Very well. It's quite simple actually - you have a Pawn in a position to be promoted. Instead of moving yourself to attack Laplace, promote the Pawn to a Knight. Do so and you will checkmate him there and then."

Silence descended upon the board and Shinku gaped as her gaze moved from one square to the next, seeing what Suigintou had seen and she had not. Her sister was right. It had never occurred to her to underpromote the Pawn to a Knight. Doing so would instantly mate Laplace, something a Queen could not do under the same circumstances. It was ... brilliant.

"That will not be necessary," said Laplace, taking a theatrical bow, "I ... resign. You have seen through the fog of war and found a path to victory. The game ... is yours."

The pieces vanished in an instant, leaving only Shinku, Kanaria and Laplace standing on the chessboard. Overhead, Suigintou folded her arms and floated back down with an air of smugness about her. Laplace stood upright and flicked both his hands open, producing two glimmering red stones as if by slight of hand.

The Rosa Mystica.

"I return these to their rightful owners," he said, extending his arms. One of the Rosa Mystica sailed through the air and into Shinku, causing her to glow from within as her body absorbed it. The second went to Suigintou and she gasped with delight at the sensation of taking a Rosa Mystica into herself.

"I take my leave of you," Laplace added, slashing his hand through the air and cutting a hole open in the very fabric of the N-Field, "Until next time ..." he stepped through and vanished, the hole closing behind him as if it were never there to begin with. As soon as he was gone the invisible wall keeping Jun and the others out disappeared. Since Jun was leaning against it at the time he promptly fell flat on his face.

"I hate that damn rabbit," he cursed, picking himself up with Tomoe's help. There was a long drawn out silence then as Jun and Shinku stared at each from across the giant chessboard. Tomoe leaned close and whispered into his ear.

"Go on," she urged, giving him a gentle push. He staggered forwards a step and stopped. His eyes met Shinku's and he hesitated for a second. Then he broke into a run. He reached Shinku and gave her what could only be described as a glomp, falling to his knees and wrapping his arms around her, causing her to rock back on her heels. He squeezed his eyes shut and hugged her as tightly as he could without hurting her, not wanting to let go for fear that she might leave him again.

"Jun ..." Shinku said eventually. Reluctantly Jun released her and pulled away, yet he kept his hands on her shoulders all the same. His cheeks were damp with tears and his eyes were tinged red.

"Shinku ... why did you have to go and leave like that?"

"You know why, Jun," she said, not meeting his gaze. Jun felt a tremendous pressure build inside him, and the only way he could think to get rid of it was to yell at Shinku at the top of his voice, but he didn't want to do that. He swallowed and blinked back his tears instead.

"No I don't. I don't get it at all," he said, his tone challenging, demanding that Shinku explain her reasons to his face. Shinku still did not look at him, and he saw her wince from the effort of having to confront what she'd been running away from.

"It pains me to be by your side, Jun. It hurts watching you grow up, seeing you drift further away from us ... from me ..." a single tear rolled down her cheek and she brushed it away with the back of her hand, "I realize now that it was selfish of me to expect you to be mine forever. You have your own life to lead and I cannot be a part of that. No matter ... no matter how much I might want to be."

"But Shinku ... I want you to be a part of my life," Jun said quietly, his voice trembling. Now, finally, Shinku did look at him. The sadness in her eyes was like a dagger in his heart. The pain he felt was as real as any physical injury.

"You don't know what you're asking Jun. What kind of life could we build together? What kind of future?"

Jun tightened his grip a fraction and inched his face closer to hers. "Shinku, if I spent the rest of my life serving you tea and carrying you around everywhere, I could die happy."

Shinku turned her head away, her eyes going cold. "You don't mean that Jun. Not really."

"Are you kidding me?" Jun almost yelled. Gently, he touched his fingers to Shinku's chin and turned her face back to him, his eyes widening, his expression filled with pure and open honesty. "Shinku, I couldn't sell a lie if my life depended on it. Look me in the eye and tell me I'm lying to you."

She did as he asked and saw that he truly meant what he said. It was still not enough. She had to do what was best for him. Her gaze dropped. "Then you are a foolish child, Jun. My leaving is for your own good."

Jun gasped. What would it take to convince her? He let go of her, his hands dropping to the floor, yet he never took his eyes off Shinku for a second. "You once told me I had a hole in my heart. You remember?"

"I remember."

"Well it's gone now. It's gone because you filled it, Shinku. You mended my broken heart. Now you're going to leave me and I'm going to have a hole in my heart again where you were. Please ... Shinku, don't do that to me. I need you."

Shinku turned away from him so he wouldn't see the glittering tears threatening to flood her red face. "Jun ..."

Jun couldn't take it anymore. It was too much. All the walls he'd built up throughout his life crumbled away and he let self control fly out the window. He grabbed Shinku, turned her back to face him and fixed her with a tearful gaze that bared his soul to her.

"Shinku, I love you! I love you, I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU SHINKU!"

The silence that followed was deafening. Kanaria clapped her hands over her mouth so as not to make a sound. Suigintou looked as if someone had repeatedly slapped her and then run off. Tomoe bowed her head, her eyes closed, wet tears forming on her eyelashes. Shinku stared at Jun in utter amazement, unable to believe the words that he had just shouted at her. She felt as if she'd fallen into a dream, yet it was all too lucid.

Realization hit then and she broke down. Shinku collapsed onto the floor and sobbed into her arms, her shoulders shaking. Jun was numb, as if he'd just taken an electrical shock. His head pounded and felt as if it were stuffed with cotton wool. He couldn't think straight, and some distant part of his mind replayed what he'd just said, trying to get his attention. Eventually it did and he remembered where he was and what he was doing. He tenderly placed a hand on the back of Shinku's head and shut his eyes.

"I just want to be with you," he said to her, his voice barely above a whisper, "No matter how old I get or how much I grow up, there's _nothing_ I want more in this life than to have you by my side, Shinku. I hope you do want me forever, because I'm yours for the rest of my life, and nothing will ever change that."

Shinku's shoulders stopped shaking and she peered up at him. He opened his eyes and saw that her beautiful face was a mess; her eyes puffy, her cheeks soaked and reddened, her lips quivering. Yet Jun's heart ached just looking at her. He meant every word he'd just said a thousand times over and he felt as if he'd do anything to put a smile on her face. Shinku hiccupped.

"Jun ..."

Jun shifted his position so that he was on one knee before her. He reached out and lightly took a hold of Shinku's hand. Pausing only to brush his arm across his face and wipe away his tears, he arranged his features into an expression of deadly seriousness.

"Shinku," he said, fighting to keep his voice level, "I swear upon this rose ring to serve you and protect you. No matter what."

He leaned forwards and kissed the ring on Shinku's hand, just as he'd done when they had first met. Back then he'd done so out of desperation to save himself from being attacked. Now he poured his heart and soul into the kiss, putting the full weight of his convictions behind the oath. Shinku's ring flared a brilliant ruby red and the ring on his own hand did the same. In the light of that glow, Shinku smiled.

* * *

"Shinku!" Suiseiseki nearly knocked her sister over as she ran at her and embraced her. Shinku hugged her sister back. Suiseiseki pulled away and looked from her to Jun. "Well then, I guess I'll let you off with it this time. Honestly, running off like that and leaving me here with that horrid Barasuishou."

"Are you two still not getting along?" Jun asked, slipping his shoes off and rubbing the back of his neck. Suiseiseki huffed and put her hands on her hips in a sullen display.

"You wouldn't believe what she did to me while you were gone. It was horrifying. I dare not speak of it lest your hair turn white with shock and your puny brain curdle inside your skull."

"Come now, I am sure it was not that bad," said Shinku, striding past her and heading for the stairs. Suiseiseki peered over her shoulder at her, her eyes wide with fright.

"You so have no idea! I wouldn't wish it upon my very worst enemy!" She glanced up as Jun walked past and frowned. "Well, maybe on Jun ..."

Suiseiseki followed them up to Jun's room. Jun reached under his bed and pulled out the doll case containing the still form of Hinaichigo. He moved it to the center of the room and sat down in front of it. Shinku stood beside him, closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, as if praying silently.

"What are you doing?" Suiseiseki asked, not understanding their odd behavior. She started with surprise as Shinku produced a glowing red sphere sorrounded by an aura of scarlet sigils and glyphs. It was Hina's Rosa Mystica. She held it out towards Jun, who looked uncertain.

"Are you sure about this?" he said. Shinku nodded.

"Not just anyone can return a Rosa Mystica to its proper place. Only a Maestro like father can restore a lost soul. It is a power you possess as well, Jun. I have seen it with my own eyes."

Jun took the glowing gemstone from her, holding the strange object without actually touching it. It seemed to move according to his intent. Shinku opened Hina's case, revealing the lifeless doll within. She looked across at Jun, who seemed hopelessly lost.

"Relax Jun, and clear your mind. Let your instincts guide you. This gift is intrinsic to you."

Jun groaned. "I have no idea what that means ..." He peered down at Hina, who looked as if she were simply slumbering after a long tiring day. Okay, he thought, clear your mind. Yeah, because that's so easy ...

Before he knew what was happening his hands were moving of their own accord. It was an oddly familiar sensation, the kind that normally comes from long hours of practice, like sewing. It was something he didn't have to think about because his fingers already knew what to do. He placed a thumb against Hina's chin and carefully opened her mouth. Then he guided the Rosa Mystica across and steered it into her mouth, as if he were feeding medicine to an unconscious patient. The red light of the Rosa Mystica dimmed as it sank down the dolls throat. Still holding her mouth open, Jun leaned down towards her until his lips were almost touching her own and blew into her.

Hina suddenly floated out of her case and into the air, glowing with an almost blinding light. Jun sank back and shielded his eyes with his hands until the glare faded. They watched as Hina slowly drifted back down into her case and lay there, as if nothing had happened. Jun lowered his hands and blinked.

"Was that it? Did I do it?"

Shinku knelt down and placed her hands on the rim of the open case. "I believe so. Now it remains only to wind her and see."

"I ... I so don't believe it. That was amazing Jun!" Suiseiseki breathed, watching him with awe, her usual snarky nature forgotten. Jun blushed slightly and muttered something incoherent. Shinku held Hina's winding key in her hands and stared at it for a long moment.

"Jun, I believe there is one final thing we should do here ..."

* * *

Tomoe's parents only caught a brief glimpse of their daughter, who ran past them upon her return home and shut herself in her room without a single word of greeting or explanation as to where she had been all evening. Forgetting her usually reserved nature, Tomoe threw herself down onto her bed and buried her face in her pillow, trying desperately to shut out the world around her. A part of her wished she was still lying in a coma in hospital, sleeping a dreamless sleep.

It was for the best, the kind rational part of her assured her. With uncharacteristic sharpness she told that part of herself to shut up. She _knew_ that already. She wanted Jun to be happy, and now he and Shinku were reunited and he would be. It was just ... she hadn't quite expected such an emphatic declaration from him with regards to his feelings for Shinku. Deep down she'd known he felt that way for her, and she should be happy for him. There weren't many boys that would choose to be with a ... a doll over a human girl. There was a lot he was giving up by making that choice.

She was taking this too hard. It wasn't as if she loved Jun, certainly not the way he and Shinku loved each other. Seeing those two together was like watching something out of a fairy tale. At most she could say she had grown overly fond of Jun and developed a crush on him. That kind of thing happened all the time. She would get over it. Besides, she wasn't even sure she wanted to go down that road. There were things about herself that she was only just figuring out, and it would be better if she took the time to work those things out before she made any kind of big decisions.

She sat up and sniffed several times. She needed a handkerchief. Glancing around her room, her eyes were drawn to the large rectangular object in the middle of the floor. She blinked, not quite sure she was seeing properly. It was a doll case. A Rozen Maiden doll case. Tomoe got up and walked over to it, noticing that there was a note taped to the lid. She knelt down and pulled it off. It was very short. It simply said:

_Thanks_

_- Jun_

Frowning, she opened the case and her heart skipped a beat. Inside lay Hinaichigo. The doll pushed herself up on one arm and rubbed her eyes with her free hand. She blinked several times and focused her bright green gaze upon Tomoe. An instant later her face lit up with joy and she launched herself out of her case and wrapped her arms around Tomoe with a squeal of childish delight.

* * *

Hinaichigo: Jun and Shinku brought Hina back, and now Hina can play with everyone again!

Suiseiseki: Oh great, now that puny Ichigo is back.

Hinaichigo: Does this mean we can wake Souseiseki up as well?

Suiseiseki: W-what? No! Shut up you!

Jun: Why do people keep asking me to do stuff I don't wanna do?

Shinku: Jun, go and make me some tea.

Jun: That's not what I meant.

Souseiseki: Suiseiseki, what's wrong?

Suiseiseki: Nothing! Leave me alone, I am so not speaking to you!

Souseiseki: Was it something I said?

Kirakishou: Big sis! I have a very special surprise for you ...

Suigintou: What is _wrong_ with you?

Kirakishou: Don't be like that. I'm going to do something nice for you. I'm going to fix your broken Medium ...

Souseiseki: Next time, on Rozen Maiden: Märchen,

Suiseiseki: The light of truth is so totally elusive!


	14. EP4: Desire

One of the advantages of living in the middle of nowhere and having no social life is that I can spend more time writing. So here, ahead of schedule is the first chapter of episode four. Bit of a mood swing chapter as it goes from being kinda serious to silly. This episode (though not this chapter) will also feature the return of Souseiseki.

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE 4

Desire

* * *

Kirakishou opened her eye. She was lying down. The ground felt ... odd. It moved beneath her. It slithered. She pushed herself up and saw that it was in fact sand. White sand. She got slowly to her feet and cast her one-eyed gazed about to see that she was standing in a desert. A great, vast, barren white desert. The sky above was as black as black ever got. There were no stars, no moon. She would have been surprised if there were. She'd never seen real stars with her own eye.

The sand gave off its own light, as if it were glowing. To some this might seem strange. Kirakishou had spent her entire life inside the N-Field, a place that reflected half-formed dreams and twisted nightmares. A place born from the deepest recesses of the psyche. Kirakishou lived down the rabbit hole, through the looking glass. What was strange to some was normality to her. Her sense of reality was as substantial as fog.

Despite being at ease by her surroundings, Kirakishou was deathly afraid. She was afraid because there was no one in sight for as far as she could see, and she could see for miles around.

She was alone.

"Hello?" she called out. Her voice rang out across the sand dunes, hollow, empty. "Is anyone there? Hello? Can anyone hear me?"

No answer.

"Father? Father! Where are you?"

Panic started to gnaw at her mind. Her mind, not her insides. She didn't have insides. She was a ghost. A form without substance. A shadow. When she reached out and touched something, she only imagined what it felt like. Phantom feelings. Phantom pain. Phantom fear. She was a phantom and she was scared.

"Somebody! Anybody!"

There was no one. She was all alone, and the loneliness threatened to overwhelm her. It weighed down on her like the crushing blackness of an ocean. Slowly, she put one foot in front of the other. Again. And again. She walked. She had no choice. She had to find someone. Anyone. Before the loneliness consumed her.

For how long she walked she could not say. Hours. Days. Weeks. It might have been years. She had no watch and the sky did not change. No sense of time. Eventually she started to feel tired, but a part of her knew that was only because her mind expected her to be tired after walking for so long. She didn't have a body to wear out. She had to keep going.

Eventually it proved too much. No matter how far she walked there was only the relentless sea of white sand. On and on it went without end. She may as well have been walking on the spot. She sank to her knees, her hands digging into the soft, warm sand. At least she imagined it to be soft and warm, and so it felt to her. For all she knew it could really be cold and hard. She'd never know, not without real hands. Her hands weren't real.

"Father ... please father," Kirakishou wailed, tears pouring from her one eye, "Why did you leave me here? Where are you? Where are my sisters? Father ..."

By chance she happened to glance up. In doing so she noticed something. There was a table in front of her. A wooden table. Her eye widened and she stared at it, the rose in her empty eye turning slightly. The table was just sitting there on a flat stretch of sand. It hadn't been there a moment ago, yet it was there now. Kirakishou stood, her mouth open in stunned amazement.

There. The thing she'd been searching for. The thing father wanted her to find. The Pyxis. It was on the table. Her imaginary breath caught in her nonexistent throat. It was a doll case. The design was very similar to the cases owned by the Rozen Maiden, except that this one was made from ebony and was as black as the sky above her. It had silver highlights around the edges, and instead of a rose design it had a silver fleur-de-lis on the lid.

So ecstatic to finally see it was she that she floated over the sand towards the table. She reached out to touch it, hesitated at that last moment and then timidly laid her fingertips on the sides. It was real. More real than she was. Her eye widened with joy, her face split with a stupid grin. She giggled.

"I found it. Father, I found it! I can become Alice now. I can become Alice and I can be with you ..."

She tried to open the case but it was locked. Yes. Of course. She knew it would be. That was why father had given her the key. The thing he treasured, the thing he'd sworn her to protect. The key to the Pyxis. She extended a hand.

"Rosary," she said, intending to summon her artificial spirit. Her spirit would materialise the key in her hand.

"Rosary," she called out again, frowning. Her artificial spirit did not come forth. In fact she could not even sense its presence within her. It was gone, and without it she could not materialise the key she needed. Panic rose up once more, forcing her to release a hysterical wail of fear and frustration. She spun and whirled, hoping to see the little white wisp floating across the desert towards her, but it was nowhere to be found.

"No," she whimpered, on the verge of a complete breakdown, "No no no no NO!" She turned back to the black doll case and tried in vain to force it open. It was no good. She couldn't. She couldn't open it. She couldn't become Alice. She was going to spend the rest of time trapped, forever alone in this desert. Destined never to see her father or her sisters ever again. Kirakishou dropped to her knees, threw back her head and screamed.

* * *

The doll case flew open and Kirakishou sat up, her breathing fast and shallow, her eye wide. Seconds passed and she gradually came to realise that she had been dreaming. She was awake now. Safe. She was home. She chided herself. She should have known better than to try and sleep. It wasn't as if she needed the rest, and the dreams were seldom pleasant these days.

"Rosary," she whispered, holding out her hand. At once her artificial spirit came forth and sailed over and around her arm. The key materialised and fell into her palm, and she closed her hand tight and clutched it lovingly to her chest. It was safe. She still had it. Father's treasure. She hadn't lost it at all, it had just been the dream.

After taking five minutes or so to properly calm down, Kirakishou decided to get up rather than try returning to sleep. The remnants of her dream - no, nightmare - still clung to her frayed mind. She needed a distraction. She padded through the sparkling hallways of her crystal palace, wondering aimlessly from room to room, searching for something to occupy her time. The palace was full of mirrors. Mirrors everywhere, of all shapes and sizes. Mirrors on the crystal walls, mirrors on the crystal doors, there were even entire rooms covered from floor to ceiling with faceted mirrors. She stopped in front of one full-length mirror and examined herself in it.

"Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?" she said aloud, and giggled. Her gaze went to the white rose growing out of her empty eye socket and she scowled, reaching up to touch it. A flaw. Fair she might be, but Alice she was not.

To her knowledge there were only two ways to become Alice. One was to play the Alice game and take her sisters Rosa Mystica. She did not wish to do that. She loved her sisters, Suigintou especially, and she would prefer not to hurt them. Unless she had to of course. The other way was to find and open the Pyxis. Whichever one of the Rozen Maiden did so would become Alice, and as she held the only key to it - a gift from father himself - that would naturally be her.

There was still the little matter of _finding_ it though. It wasn't in the N-Field or else she would have sensed it. Kirakishou was born in the N-Field. She was more attuned to it than any other living thing. No, it wasn't here, not in any of the countless thousands of overlapping worlds. It was in the real world. And that was a problem, because she could not go there. She had no body. Without a body she could not leave the N-Field. She needed a body to search for the case. Not just any body would do, either. It had to be one compatible with her spirit, and there was only one doll that fit the bill.

Barasuishou. The doll Enju had made using Rozen's discarded plans for Kirakishou. Barasuishou was close enough to Kirakishou to be her twin. The biggest difference was that Enju had created Barasuishou in the real world, whereas Rozen had created Kirakishou in the N-Field. Barasuishou was not a true Rozen Maiden but she was the only doll that Kirakishou could use as a vessel. The only one compatible with her. They were like two sides to the same coin.

The reflection in the mirror twisted and warped, showing Kirakishou something other than herself. It was the Sakurada house. The inhabitants were sitting down to breakfast. Kirakishou pressed her hands to the glass and stared with longing at them. Food. Oh what it would be like to eat food. Real food, not the imaginary stuff she ate here that tasted so bland. Real food. Real drink. Oh, to drink tea! To enjoy the taste that brought a look of such satisfaction to Shinku's face. To feel the joy that Suiseiseki felt as she shovelled cereal down her throat. Kirakishou yearned for breakfast. How marvellous it must be.

She closed her eye and pulled herself away from the mirror, struggling to bury those feelings. Useless desires that she could not satiate. Not without a body. To live a life never knowing the taste of food or the caress of a gentle touch ... it was torturous. All she felt was what her mind sensed or otherwise conjured up, and it was nothing compared with the real thing. Why had father done this to her? Suigintou enjoyed a massive inferiority complex simply because father had left her body incomplete. She had no idea. No idea what it was like to be left without a body _at all_.

Her thoughts of Suigintou had summoned her sisters image in the mirror. Kirakishou turned her attention back to it and watched her big sis chatting with her Medium. Megu, her name was. A sorry exscuse for a Medium if ever there was one. Her heart was on the verge of failure due to some human disease. She could die at any time, and if Suigintou drew any amount of power from the girl it would only hasten her demise. How utterly pathetic. How pitiful.

And yet ... Suigintou cared for her. It was obvious to anyone that watched her closely enough. It was also puzzling. Suigintou had been fooled into playing the Alice game by Barasuishou due to her desire to fix this broken girl. Kirakishou raised a finger to her lips, thinking.

"If that's all big sis wants it should be easy to arrange ... fixing one broken girl is nothing to one such as I ..." she smiled, a plan falling into shape inside her fractured mind, "I think it's time for me to extend an invitation to Suigintou. I shall offer to mend her Medium, and when I do she shall be ever so grateful. She might even be willing to come and visit me and keep me company ..."

Alone inside the vast, empty crystal palace, Kirakishou's eerie giggles echoed through the halls. Yes, she thought, company would be nice. It was so quiet around here after all.

* * *

"PERVERT!"

Jun Sakurada was having a bad morning. Breakfast had been interrupted by Tomoe, who'd arrived with Hinaichigo in tow. She didn't want to leave the newly awakened doll alone while she went to school, so she'd brought the little pink bundle of fun around to stay at Jun's. Hina was so happy to be awake again that she was like a five-year old kid on a sugar high, and that was not something you wanted to deal with first thing in the morning.

It only got worse from there.

"Just look at the puny lecherous runt! The evidence is clear for all to see!" Suiseiseki pointed accusingly at Jun. It should probably be noted that the little doll was wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around herself. Her wet hair dripped water onto the floor behind her.

"What's going on?" asked a concerned Nori, drawn to the sound of shouting. She gasped and raised a hand to her mouth as she saw Jun. "Oh Jun! Are you hurt?"

"By dose is beeding," responded her brother, his words somewhat garbled due to the large wad of tissue paper he had stuffed up his nose. He stood at the kitchen sink and tilted his head back.

"I believe he said that his nose is bleeding," said Shinku. She was standing next to Suiseiseki and was also dressed in only a bath towel. Her hair was untied as well and flowed down to around her ankles, droplets of water glinting along its glossy golden length. Nori looked from the dolls to her stricken brother, her expression changing very rapidly.

"Oh. Oh!" She went slightly red and giggled. "Jun-kun, what _have_ you been up to?"

"The great big pervert walked into the bathroom without knocking," shouted Suiseiseki, "It just so happens that Shinku and I were having a bath!"

Jun managed to unplug his nose long enough to get a coherent sentence out. "That's so stupid! Whoever heard of a doll taking a bath?"

"The sensation is quite pleasant and relaxing, even for a doll," said Shinku calmly, "It would seem that I have a more appealing fragrance now as well."

Suiseiseki stamped her foot, then hurriedly readjusted her towel when it slipped a little. She glared daggers at Jun. "I swear, this is too much, even for the puny human! He so got off on seeing us naked!"

Jun almost choked on the blood pouring from his nostrils. He coughed, his eyes watering. "What the heck are you talking about? You're a doll for crying out loud!"

"Your nose is bleeding!" Suiseiseki pointed again for effect, "Everyone knows what that means!"

Nori smiled mischievously. "I knew you liked the dolls Jun-kun, but I didn't know you _liked them_ liked them."

"Will you all shut the hell up! My nose is bleeding because I walked into the wall!"

"Liar! Pervert!" Suiseiseki yelled, "It's common knowledge that boys have nosebleeds when aroused!"

Jun snatched a fresh wad of tissue from his sister and used it to stem the continued flow of blood. "Like hell! That's just a stupid urban otaku legend! That doesn't really happen! Tell them Tomoe!"

Tomoe was sitting on the couch with her school bag, waiting for Jun and Nori to get ready. When the commotion had started she had twisted around in her seat and silently observed, all the while struggling not to snigger at Jun's unfortunate predicament.

"Umm, I'm sorry, I don't know," she said in her usual quiet voice, "That's not really my area."

Jun clutched the sink with one hand and fought the urge to throw up. The blood loss was starting to make him dizzy. He was going to be late for school at this rate. Suiseiseki meanwhile wasn't about to let up.

"Admit it Jun, you have a doll fetish!"

"WHAT? I do not!"

"You so do! It's no use denying it, not after you confessed your undying love for Shinku yesterday. On Valentines day no less!"

Nori clasped her hands together and almost squee'd with delight at her little brother. "Jun-kun is that true?"

Jun hesitated, intending to deny it but realising that there were at least two people in the room who'd seen him do it, and one of them he'd done it to. Suiseiseki turned to Nori, her eyes glinting with impish joy.

"It is indeed. He was all 'Ohhh, Shinku, I love you! I want to be with you forever and ever!'" she faced Shinku and spoke in a mocking imitation of Jun's voice. Shinku simply stared at her, not reacting, while Nori actually jumped up and down. This caused Jun's blood pressure to rise, and since the blood was already rushing to his face out of sheer embarrassment it only served to keep his nosebleed going.

"Shut up! Just shut up! You weren't even there! It wasn't like that at all!"

"Actually I believe it was something like that," said Shinku with absolute calm.

"Oh Jun-kun! That's wonderful!"

"What's wonderful about it?" Suiseiseki snapped, "It just means your brother is a peeping tom that gets off on seeing naked dolls! Next thing you know he'll be ordering one of those Western Dutch Dolls online in order to satisfy his beastly cravings!"

"AAAHH! SHUT UP YOU ROTTEN EVIL DOLL!"

"I don't know what all the fuss is about," said Shinku. Everyone stared at her in astonishment and she blinked back at them with genuine surprise. "What?"

Suiseiseki gaped at her. "Doesn't it bother you that the puny runt was getting his kicks from gawping at us in the bath?"

Shinku smiled and brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Not at all. In fact I find it rather flattering that I could have such an effect on him. Don't you?"

Jun was speechless, which was just as well because he felt as if he might pass out at any moment, and talking would only use up what little air he had. Suiseiseki was taken aback.

"I guess when you put it like that ... I hadn't thought of it that way ..." She flicked her hair around and turned away haughtily, clutching the top of her bath towel and pointing her nose in the air. "Well human I shall take this incident as a compliment and let you go without inflicting any of the brain searing punishments I had in store for you. I suppose it shows what good taste you have, after all. Just don't let it happen again or I will have no choice but to mash your puny body into a paste and feed it to the nearest cat, you big doll lover you."

Jun briefly considered hurling a death threat back at her but fortunately for him she left before he could come up with anything suitably creative. It took him a moment to realise that Shinku was still there, and was still wearing her hair loose and standing around in a fluffy towel. She tilted her head to one side and smiled at him.

"Jun-kun ..." she said in a tone that he had only heard before when she was teasing him. He blushed and hastily turned away, whilst Nori hurried to his side and put her hands around his shoulders.

"Ohhh, my little brother is growing up," Nori gushed, much to Jun's dismay. "You know Jun, if you wanted, we could always have a bath together. As brother and sister ..."

Jun leaned into the sink and clutched his head as if trying to retain a single shred of sanity. He whimpered. "Why ... what did I ever do to deserve this?"

By now Shinku had left to find Suiseiseki and get dried off, but Hinaichigo chose that moment to prance in and hop up into Tomoe's lap. She beamed up at her with a pure expression of innocence.

"Hey, Tomoe?"

"Yes Hina?"

"What's a pervert?"


	15. EP4: From the Heart

Okay, this episode was _supposed_ to be dedicated to Souseiseki and Suiseiseki reuniting, but it hasn't worked out that way. I might extend this episode by another chapter or so in order to fit everything in.

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE 4

From the Heart

* * *

Jun did make it to school on time, but only just. His nosebleed had stopped, mercifully. His pride and dignity however were in complete tatters. Nori and Tomoe teased him relentlessly on the way to school. Nori in particular couldn't get over the fact that he'd confessed his love to Shinku, and seemed to be of the opinion that Jun was going to _marry_ her at some unforeseeable point in the future. She had frantically tried to figure out how a wedding between a boy and a doll might work, while Jun begged her to stop.

By the time they eventually did get to school, Jun was actually relieved to have schoolwork to occupy his time and his mind. Growing up he may be, yet he was still just a kid. He was in school for crying out loud! How could he even think of getting married? He couldn't even make up his mind as to what career he wanted to pursue. Nevertheless he found his thoughts drifting during class, and was startled to realise that he had been doodling designs for a wedding dress in his workbook. He blushed and hurriedly erased it whilst fervently hoping that no one else had seen.

The class relocated to the school library for a study period, although everyone mostly used the time to relax and chat with one another. Jun was probably the only one actually working, and sat at a table beside Tomoe as they went over the morning's lessons. Jun still needed help, though he was slowly getting better at it all. The problem was, as Tomoe had said, his lack of confidence. Once upon a time he'd been the schools top grade student. His own insecurities were holding him back and making the work harder for him, but he was getting over them little by little.

"Thanks, I get it now," he said gratefully to Tomoe.

"No problem. Actually I should be thanking you Jun."

He blinked. "Huh? What for?"

"For bringing Hina back. Seeing her again really cheered me up. I thought she was gone for good, but ... I guess I should have figured. With you around, anything is possible."

Jun stared at her. She was looking at the textbook on the table in front of them, though he could tell she was doing that so she didn't have to look at him. Something occurred to him.

"Cheered you up? Were you feeling down?"

Tomoe looked away and began fiddling with her pencil case all of a sudden. "No, nothing like that."

Normally Tomoe was pretty difficult to read. She was always so quiet and reserved that most people found it impossible to tell the difference between her being happy or her being sad. Jun however had been friends with her since they were practically toddlers, and now that he was less wrapped up in his own problems he could tell that she was lying. He had a pretty good idea why as well.

"Listen, Tomoe, about yesterday-"

"Don't," Tomoe said abruptly, rounding on him with a firm set look in her eyes, "You don't have to say anything. I'm happy for you, Jun. Really."

"I, uh ... thanks," he answered lamely, his shoulders slumping. They both stared at the table in front of them in awkward silence for several moments before Tomoe spoke again.

"Jun ... next month, don't get me anything for White Day. It wouldn't be fair on Shinku. Give her something instead."

Jun observed her from the corner of his eye, and he could tell she was having a hard time saying these things. He didn't know what to do. Yesterday he'd opened his heart up to Shinku out of fear of losing her, and he'd done it without any thought to Tomoe's feelings. She'd stood there and watched without saying a word. Heck, if it weren't for Tomoe he wouldn't have even found Shinku in the first place. It occurred to him that Tomoe was a very good friend, and one far better than he deserved.

"Heads up," she said suddenly. Jun looked up and saw a girl heading towards their table, a glossy magazine clutched in her hands. It was Yuna Kuwata, only the prettiest girl in the entire school as voted by general consensus. With a deeply mischievous smirk on her face she slapped her magazine down on the table in front of Jun and then sat herself down next to him. He stared at the shiny front cover and parts of his brain that were faster at processing things started to raise alarm bells inside his head.

"You look cute with long hair, Sakurada," said Yuna, stifling a good-natured laugh. Tomoe leaned over and peered at the magazine whilst Jun started to have a mild panic attack. It was one of those teen lifestyle magazines, and there were two brightly dressed girls on the front cover posing together.

Well, one girl at any rate.

"I'm guessing by the look on your face that I'm right and that is in fact you on the cover with Tomoe," said Yuna cheerfully. Jun struggled to make a noise of some kind but failed when his vocabulary neglected to provide him with any actual words for the occasion. She _was_ right, that was him on the front cover. It would seem that the pictures Mitsu took for her fashion shoot had finally seen the light of day.

"Hey, it turned out pretty good, didn't it?" said Tomoe, seemingly oblivious to Jun's extreme discomfort. Yuna grinned as she watched him.

"There's more inside," she added helpfully.

"H-how ... ?" Jun managed, waving a shaking finger at the horrifying sight before him. Yuna shrugged.

"I read your blog and then when I saw this I just put two and two together. Oh," she reached across and grabbed Jun's hand, "It helps that you have a very distinctive ring," she added, pointing at said object on his finger. He blinked and focused on the picture of himself on the front cover of the magazine again, and to his mounting dread he realised that yes, you could easily see the rose ring on his hand. It would be in all of the shots Mitsu had taken of him. He'd forgotten about it at the time, but then it often slipped his mind since he couldn't very well remove it. He made a noise somewhere between a groan and a deep wail of despair.

"It's not that bad," Tomoe tried to assure him. Jun stared at her in disbelief.

"Not that bad? Are you kidding me? This is totally bad!" Jun hid his face behind his hands as if that would make him invisible somehow. If only. "Pretty soon everyone in school will know what I did. Forget designing dresses and living with dolls, when this gets out I'm going to have no choice but to sign myself into a padded cell!" He pushed his chair back and started to leave until Tomoe grabbed his wrist.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"I'm moving to Osaka. Don't even think of trying to stop me."

Tomoe got up and steered him forcefully back into his chair, which wasn't that difficult because she was quite strong and Jun was ... well, puny. He struggled futilely.

"Let go of me! I gotta get out of here!"

"Jun, running away will not solve anything."

"Yes, it will. When people find out I will be a hundred miles from here and I won't be able to hear the laughter."

At that point Yuna gently cleared her throat. "Might I offer and alternative to moving house?"

"No," said Jun.

"Yes," said Tomoe.

"People listen to me and trust me. I could easily tell them that it was your cousin who posed for the pictures, and you loaned her your ring because she liked it. Tomoe could back me up and no one need be any the wiser."

Jun scowled, not liking this plan as much as his own. "I don't have a cousin."

"Nobody needs to know that. Just fill your sister in and everything should be fine. Besides, it's not that obvious that it's you," Yuna said, tapping a finger on the front cover, "You make a very convincing girl in these pictures. It could work."

"I like my idea better," said Jun sullenly. He could already hear the roars of mocking laughter. Maybe they were going to laugh so loud that it would echo back in time to this moment, and that was what he was hearing. He slumped forwards and leaned his head against his hands, staring mutely at the cover of the magazine. What an idiot he'd been. It was a fashion shoot for teen girls, _of course_ people at school would see the pictures.

"Well?"

"Fine. But if anyone finds out it was me-"

"You'll be in Osaka. Got it," Yuna clapped her hands together, "Oh! That reminds me. Since I'm going to be doing you a favour, would you mind doing me one?"

Jun rolled his eyes. "Just so long as it doesn't involve dressing up as a girl."

"No. Not unless you want to. The drama club is organising a school play, and we need someone to design the costumes. I was hoping you would do it."

Jun snorted. "Forget it. You want to save me from public humiliation only to publicly humiliate me? Thanks but no thanks."

"Jun!" Tomoe, who was still standing behind him in case he decided to run away, gave him a gentle nudge. Yuna treated him to a grade A pleading puppy dog look, complete with adorable wide eyes that could melt the coldest of hearts. It was completely unfair, Jun reflected.

"Please Sakurada! Jun! Everyone already knows you do that kind of thing, and you're the best I've ever seen at it. If you did the costumes for the play I just know they'd look fantastic."

Jun was really starting to miss the good old days of being shut in his room, ordering junk online and not speaking to anyone. It was lonely but at least people didn't keep asking him to do embarrassing things he didn't want to do. Okay, that wasn't quite fair; he _loved_ designing costumes, outfits and dresses in particular. It was just that people tended to laugh and make fun of a boy doing those things, and he'd had enough humiliation to last him a lifetime.

He sighed heavily. "Why do I let people talk me into this stuff?"

"Does that mean you'll do it?"

"Yes."

"Oh thank you!" Yuna threw her arms around Jun and planted a kiss on his cheek. Because the universe had not filled its quota for relentlessly tormenting Jun Sakurada today, his nose started to bleed again.

* * *

Suigintou scowled. She was good at it. She floated through the empty, snow-covered streets of her own personal N-Field, following the tiny white spirit in front of her. It was unquestionably the artificial spirit that belonged to her psychotic little sister Kirakishou. An invitation, and one that Suigintou had elected to accept. She had not forgotten her sister's boastful claim that she could become Alice without playing the Alice game. Ordinarily she would have dismissed the claim out of hand, yet Shinku had told her what father had said to her. That it was possible. Somehow. If Kirakishou knew how, Suigintou wanted to find out.

It was surprising that Kirakishou had chosen Suigintou's field as the meeting place. If a fight broke out between them then Suigintou would have the home advantage, since this was her world after all. The move suggested that Kirakishou wanted Suigintou to feel she had the upper hand, and Suigintou didn't know what to make of that.

She followed Rosary into a large, desolate building. Kirakishou was inside, standing before a huge mirror that covered the entire far wall. The spirit sailed over to its master and vanished into her. Suigintou landed lightly a dozen or so feet away. As she did so, she noticed a rather disconcerting fact; Kirakishou was facing her and thus had her back to the mirror. Her reflection should therefore be of her back. It wasn't. Kirakishou's reflection was facing the same way as she was, which made no sense at all. Suigintou decided to ignore that for now.

"It's good to see you, big sis."

"I wish I could say the same," Suigintou said, taking a few steps towards her, "Now why don't you explain why I'm here?"

"Because I wanted to tell you ..." Kirakishou began. She disappeared, though her reflection remained for a second afterwards. Kirakishou herself leaned over Suigintou's shoulder and whispered into her ear, "I'm sorry ..."

Suigintou whirled around and took a step away from her unsettling sibling. That was a very annoying trick she had, and she used it often. Kirakishou smirked at her evident discomfort.

"I want to apologise about before," she explained, "I was very rude. I called you a weak helpless doll and then I attacked you. Dreadful behaviour. What must you think of me?"

Suigintou sneered. "I would tell you but I wouldn't suffer such words to pass my lips. If all you brought me here for was to apologise then you are wasting your time."

"No, please, let me make it up to you ..." Kirakishou gestured with her hand and caused the wall-mirror to light up behind Suigintou. She turned and saw to her astonishment that it was showing the inside of a hospital. Megu's hospital, she realised, and that was Megu being wheeled through the halls.

"What's going on?" Suigintou demanded, her hands curling into trembling fists, "What have you done?"

Kirakishou was at her side, gazing up at the images being displayed on the mirror. It was like a window into the hospital. She smiled faintly. "I wanted to do something nice for you," she said earnestly, "So I've arranged for your broken Medium to be fixed. That's all."

Suigintou was shaken. She was torn by her desire to protect Megu and her confusion at Kirakishou's words. She rounded on her sister and grabbed her by the shoulders. "If you harm a hair on her head I will tear you into a million pieces and grind what's left into dust."

"Promise?" Kirakishou grinned. Suigintou shook her fiercely, an act that only made the crazed seventh doll appear all the happier.

"What have you done to her! Tell me!"

Kirakishou waited until Suigintou stopped shaking her before answering. She held her hands out on either side as if the whole affair were mere child's play. "It was so simple, big sis, honestly. Your Medium had a broken defective heart. She needed a new one. Humans are reluctant to give away their parts, but some of them carry little cards around that say the doctors can chop them up and reuse their parts when they die. I found one such human in the hospital."

Suigintou's eyes narrowed, a hint of disgust creeping into her voice. "And you killed them?"

"Of course not. Humans go to hospitals because they are broken. The woman I found had something wrong with her head. They call it a brain tumour. Her heart was strong and healthy, but she had at least a year to live. Megu might not have lasted that long, so I wound the lady's time key forwards until she stopped. The doctors are taking care of the rest as we speak."

Suigintou was far too stunned for words. She stared through her sister, struggling to comprehend the enormity of what she'd done. Kirakishou went on, oblivious. "Isn't it better this way? Now your Medium will be able to live a full healthy life. Given enough time she will be strong enough for you to draw power from without dying. Doesn't that make you happy? Sis?"

Suigintou released Kirakishou and staggered back, staring at her sister with horror. "That's ... that's _vile!_ How could you do such a thing? You stole a year of a humans life away!"

Kirakishou frowned. "And gave a lifetime of years to your Medium in return. Surely that is a good compromise? You wanted to fix the girl, and now she is fixed. What does it matter to you that a stranger died in her place?"

Suigintou gasped at her. "You don't get it at all, do you? You don't even see that what you did was wrong. I ... I can't believe you are a Rozen Maiden!"

Kirakishou gave an impressive scowl for a one-eyed doll. She pointed accusingly at Suigintou. "All I did was follow your example. That's all I have ever done. I have always looked up to you, Suigintou."

"I would never have done something like this!" she spat.

"Wouldn't you? That's strange, because I seem to recall a time when you thought nothing of slaying your sisters and taking _their_ hearts for the sake of that girl. Or am I wrong?"

Suigintou balked. No, she was not wrong. Last year she had done just that. She'd entered into the Alice game as much to save Megu's life as to meet father. Perhaps more so. She'd taken Souseiseki's Rosa Mystica with a smile on her lips and joy in her soul, and after yesterday she had Souseiseki's Rosa Mystica once more within her. It burned as the guilt of what she'd done assailed her. Her face tightened at the accusation. The dark oppressive air of her N-Field was suffocating her. She needed space, and she needed to be away from the demented doll standing before her.

The mirror glowed with a bright white light and rippled as Suigintou flew through it. As the light faded Kirakishou stood, open-mouthed and bewildered.

"I don't understand," she said aloud, "I thought this would make her happy?"

* * *

Suigintou glided through the darkness of the N-Field, doors shooting past her in a blur. She was struggling to fight off the waves of revulsion and self-loathing she felt towards herself. Kirakishou had thought nothing of stealing away a humans life to fix what Suigintou wanted fixed, and she did it because she thought that it was no less than what Suigintou herself would do.

What made it all the worse was that she was right.

"I'm not like that," she snarled, trying to convince herself as much as anyone else, "I'm not like that _at all_."

It was a lie though, and she knew it. Not so long ago she would have thought nothing of taking some strangers heart and giving it to Megu. Not so long ago she had fought and killed one of her own sisters in the hopes of using her Rosa Mystica to help Megu get better. And when that didn't work she challenged the rest of her sisters, and would have turned them all into junk in order to get what she wanted.

She stopped flying and floated there, staring at her hands. Flashes of her past whirled through her mind, brief snippets of past battles. Times she had tormented and hurt her sisters. The time she had torn Shinku's arm from its socket. The time she had defeated Souseiseki and taken her Rosa Mystica. Throughout the ages, all she'd ever done was hurt people. Had she ever ... had she ever in her life done anything _nice?_

"Yes," she said. More recently she had helped that annoying boy save a girls soul tree. And just yesterday she'd saved Shinku from sacrificing herself to that insufferable rabbit Laplace. Things she normally wouldn't have even considered doing. She wasn't a complete monster. She could do good things. She didn't have to end up like Kirakishou, nor did she have to be the kind of person Kirakishou saw her as.

Suigintou looked inside herself and sensed the glowing essence of Souseiseki's Rosa Mystica. She could feel her sister's memories and feelings stirring deep within, mingling with her own. There was a strong desire to meet father, a desire she understood. But there was something else, something she'd felt before when she had possessed Souseiseki's Rosa Mystica. Suiseiseki. She yearned to be with her. She _missed_ her twin. She cared for her so much that it made Suigintou ache the more she thought about it.

She knew then what she needed to do.

* * *

Hinaichigo skipped through the house, humming a playful tune under her breath as she went. She was so happy to be awake again, even more so to be able to see her sisters and Tomoe once more. She had a new sister to play with as well. That scary Barasuishou was now living with them, and she wasn't trying to fight any of them anymore. Hina was looking for her now, to see if she wanted to play hide and go seek.

She stood in the hallway and glanced around, wondering which door she should try first. Maybe she was in the bathroom? The bathroom door was shut but Barasuishou was taller than Hina, and maybe she could reach the handle by herself. Hina strolled down the hallway and then stopped. A light shone from the dark storeroom just ahead. The door to that room was open. Hina watched it with curiosity, wondering what it might be. Maybe it was Kanaria, come to visit?

Suigintou appeared, looked around for a moment and then fixed her lavender eyes on Hina. Hina let out a gasp of fright and backed away, her hands flying to her mouth to stifle the sound. She wanted to turn away and run but she was too scared to. Before she could think to cry out for help her silver-haired big sister was standing in front of her, watching her closely. Then, and to her considerable amazement, Suigintou hugged her. Hina blinked with surprise a few times and then hugged her back, smiling widely. After a few seconds Suigintou stopped and pulled away, though she kept a hold of Hina. Hina thought she looked sad, despite her smile.

"What's wrong?" Hina asked.

"You were scared of me, weren't you?"

"Umm, well you're usually scary and mean towards Hina."

Suigintou closed her eyes for a moment. "I'm sorry."

"That's okay. Hina knows you're not a bad person, not really."

"Am I not?" Suigintou seemed mildly surprised to hear that. Hina shook her head.

"No, because Shinku told Hina that deep down Suigintou is really a good person inside, and Shinku is always right."

The sadness vanished from her face and her eyes widened. "Shinku ... really said that?"

"Uh-huh. Hina wasn't really sure if she was right about that, but see? You're being nice now. So Shinku was right after all."

Suigintou reached up and gently stroked Hina's hair. It was something she'd never done before. She'd always seen the childish doll as weak and idiotic, and if she was being brutally honest, Hina _was_. But Hina was also incredibly kind and sweet and innocent. Suigintou had never noticed that before, or if she had she'd dismissed it as irrelevant.

Right now, she envied Hinaichigo.

"Suigintou?"

"Yes Hina?"

"Why are you sad?"

Suigintou hesitated for a moment and then smiled. "I'm sad because ... I've been thinking about all the mean things I've done to you before. To you and our sisters. Tell me something Hinaichigo ..."

"Unyuu?"

"If I asked you to forgive me for being so mean ... would you?"

Hina tilted her head and laughed. "Of course! I forgive you Suigintou. Hey, do you wanna play with Hina?"

Suigintou laughed a little herself. She laid a hand against Hina's cheek. "You know something Hina? You're closer to being Alice than I've ever been."

If Shinku or Suiseiseki were watching they probably would have broken inside hearing her admit that. As it was Hina simply laughed some more and wrapped her own tiny hands around Suigintou's.

"Hina, could you do something for me?"

"Unyuu?"

Suigintou bowed her head and brought her hands close to her chest, forcing the warmth of Souseiseki's Rosa Mystica from her body. The red gem glowed in her palms as she held it out towards Hinaichigo. Hina stared at it in wonder.

"Can you give this to Jun? If he could bring you back then he can do the same for Souseiseki. She misses Suiseiseki very much, and I don't want to keep them apart any longer."

Hina took the Rosa Mystica and frowned, confused. "But ... don't you need this for the Alice game?"

Suigintou turned away and took a step towards the storeroom. She stopped and glanced back at Hina over her shoulder, a genuine smile of warmth on her face.

"I'm not going to play the Alice game anymore."


	16. EP4: Veritas

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE 4

Veritas

* * *

Suiseiseki set the heavy box down in front of her and breathed a sigh of relief. She wiped the back of her hand across her brow - not because she was sweating (dolls usually don't), it was simply a natural in-built reaction to physical exertion. Barasuishou emerged from the mirror behind her, clutching a box in her own hands. When she had safely landed Suiseiseki scowled at her.

"There, I helped," she said, "But don't go getting the wrong idea; it's not as if I like you or anything. So just keep your lips to yourself!"

"Thank you," said Barasuishou, setting the box down next to the other. She had gone to her father's shop to collect some things before the place was cleared out, and Suiseiseki had reluctantly agreed to help out.

It was ... strange. Being in the shop. She had promised herself she wouldn't cry, and she hadn't. Instead she merely felt as if she had swallowed a heavy metal sphere, and had to endure it sitting inside her chest the entire time. Looking at Suiseiseki, she envied the doll. At least there was a chance for her to see her father. Barasuishou would never see hers again.

The shop was a place of comforting memories, and despite the pain of loss she felt, she still wished she could stay there. She wondered briefly who would own the place next, and what would happen to all the dolls that still resided there. She almost felt sorry for them, though she'd never really given them a seconds thought when she had been staying there. Now however ... she was worried about them. Her father had made all of those dolls, and she didn't want to see them thrown away like worthless pieces of junk. Perhaps Sakurada would consent to take them in? Then again, perhaps not. It seemed he had more than enough dolls in his home as it was.

Barasuishou rummaged through one of the boxes, searching for something. It didn't take her long to find it, and a moment later she pulled the leather bound book out and held it up for inspection. Suiseiseki watched, curious.

"What's that?"

"A clue."

"Huh?"

Barasuishou didn't elaborate further. She stood and strode out of the storeroom, Suiseiseki trailing behind muttering at her back.

"Fine, don't tell me then. I so don't care anyway, it's not as if it has anything to do with me-" she stopped abruptly, standing in the hallway and staring past Barasuishou towards the foot of the stairs. Jun was there, and so was Shinku.

"Hello Suiseiseki," said Souseiseki.

Souseiseki too ...

Barasuishou stood to one side and looked from one twin to the other. To say that Suiseiseki was surprised would be a gross understatement of monumental proportions. A slight breeze would have been sufficient to knock her onto her back at that moment, even someone blowing at her. The silence was so thick between the two Gardener dolls that Suigintou could have chopped it into chunks with her sword if she were present.

Souseiseki took a step towards her stunned sister. To everyone's surprise, Suiseiseki took a corresponding step back from her. Souseiseki frowned.

"Suiseiseki, it's me."

Suiseiseki was visibly trembling now, though no one could tell whether it was from anger or fear or something else. When Souseiseki took another step towards her, Suiseiseki blinked sharply and cried out. She then further surprised everyone by running not into her twin's arms, but straight past her and into the living room without slowing down in the slightest. Everyone watched her vanish through the door, utterly flabbergasted.

"What the heck?" said Jun.

"Not what I was expecting," confessed Shinku, equally as confused. Neither Barasuishou nor Souseiseki were as taken aback by her behaviour though. Souseiseki bowed her head and closed her eyes.

"I was afraid of this."

"I will go and talk with her," said Shinku, moving away from Jun's side and heading for the living room door. Before she got there though, her way was obstructed by Barasuishou, who held a hand up to stop her.

"Wait Shinku," she said. Shinku blinked with surprise as Barasuishou presented the book she was carrying to her. She took it and read the title; _Die Geschichte von Puppe_, by Eike Grimm. Jun glanced over Shinku's shoulder and frowned.

"Hey, I know that book. That's the book at the school library, the one with information in it about the Rozen Maiden. I used it to help fix you once."

"The book belonged to my father," Barasuishou explained, "The man who wrote it was a friend of his. It is important that you read it."

"Can it not wait?"

"It's okay Shinku, I'll go to her," Souseiseki said, striding past them both and following after Suiseiseki. Shinku watched her go and then examined the book again. She looked up at Barasuishou with a questioning expression.

"Why is this important?"

"There is information within concerning Alice," Barasuishou answered simply, "To be specific, I believe the book contains a clue as to how one might become Alice without playing the Alice game."

"You're kidding?" said Jun, sceptical, "And you knew about this all along?"

"Yes."

"Well then why the heck did you have to fight everyone in the Alice game last year? If you knew of another way-"

Barasuishou shook her head. "My father did not care about Alice, his only desire was to show that I was better than Rozen's creations. That is why I fought. And also ... I do not think he could find the doll it describes."

"Doll?" said Shinku.

"The first doll."

"You mean Suigintou?"

"No, not the first Rozen Maiden. The first living doll ever created ..."

* * *

Suiseiseki had gone out the glass doors in the living room and somehow climbed up onto the roof of the Sakurada house. She sat at the edge of the roof with her knees pulled up close to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. Most of her face was hidden behind her knees, and she stared out at the horizon as the sun set, colouring the sky a vivid shade of red. A gentle breeze tugged at her hair and dress.

"There you are," said Souseiseki, crossing the rooftop to sit beside her sister. Suiseiseki didn't move an inch, and showed no outward sign that her twin had just sat down beside her, despite having been the doll equivalent of dead for several months. They were both silent, neither saying a word, just sitting there watching the sun set and the first of the stars come out.

"You're usually more talkative than this," said Souseiseki eventually. Suiseiseki said nothing, prompting Souseiseki to continue, "I always thought I was the quiet one."

"..."

"I take it you're not very happy to see me then."

"..."

"Would you at least tell me why?"

"...!"

"I see. So that's how it is then."

Suiseiseki didn't respond. Souseiseki sighed and closed her eyes. "I can't believe Suigintou gave up my Rosa Mystica. That's not like her at all. She's changed. A lot of things have changed while I've been gone. Shinku and Jun act differently around each other, and I cant help but notice that we seem to have adopted a new sister."

Suiseiseki's pointed silence would have put the deep void of space to shame. Souseiseki opened her miss-matching eyes and turned them on her eminently silent sister. "You've changed too, Suiseiseki. Normally when you're angry at me you yell a lot more than this."

Suiseiseki's head lowered a fraction and she finally spoke with a muffled voice. "What would be the point, you never listen."

"I'm listening now."

"Now is too late."

"It's never too late."

Suiseiseki's leaned her face completely against her knees now, her voice becoming a mere whisper. "You're so wrong ..."

"Suiseiseki ..." Souseiseki reached out and gently laid a hand on her sisters shoulder. The reaction was immediate and explosive. Suiseiseki shot to her feet and glared at her younger sibling with a look of such fury and hatred that Souseiseki almost fell off the roof in shock. Suiseiseki snarled at her, actually snarled.

"Don't you touch me! You are not allowed to touch me ever again, you hear!"

Souseiseki was completely thrown by the seething anger in her voice. Her own eyes widened with fear and alarm. "What are you saying? Suiseiseki, this isn't like you at all!"

Suiseiseki flailed her arms in frustration. "And how would you know? You said it yourself - I've changed Souseiseki. You told me I was strong enough to go on without you, and that's exactly what I've done!"

"Suiseiseki!"

"Shut up and leave me alone!" Suiseiseki spun and turned her back on her sister, crossing her trembling arms to keep them from lashing out. Souseiseki got slowly to her feet, dazed by Suiseiseki's enraged behaviour. She'd known she might be upset, but Souseiseki had never once seen her like this before. It was unsettling and frightening. She did the only thing she knew to do - she tried to be strong, like her elder sister.

"No. I won't leave you alone."

Suiseiseki moved with such speed that Souseiseki never saw the slap coming, she only felt it. After a moment of utter shock, she reached up and gingerly touched the red welt on her burning cheek, too stunned for words. Suiseiseki provided them for her.

"You _did_ leave me alone! Why the heck do you think I'm angry at you, you stupid stupid idiot you!"

Souseiseki had no answer to give her and Suiseiseki saved her the trouble by gathering up the hem of her skirt and storming off, leaving her alone on the rooftop under the starlit sky.

* * *

As Jun sat at his computer, he realised that he was being observed. It was Shinku. She was sitting on his bed with that book in her lap, watching him closely. Barasuishou was downstairs sorting through her things, and Hinaichigo was sleeping at Tomoe's house. They were alone in the room. He looked across at her.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I was wondering what you were doing."

"Oh. I'm researching this play the drama club are organising. It's called 'Wicked'."

"I see. And what is it about?"

"Uh ... it's sort of a prequel story to the Wizard of Oz, with the focus on the Wicked Witch before she became ... well, the Wicked Witch. Apparently Kuwata got the idea after I said I was going to move to Osaka. They showed this play there a few years ago and it was a big hit."

Shinku said nothing but she continued to watch him. It was making him nervous and he had trouble concentrating on the online synopsis he was reading. He decided to break the silence, saying, "What about the book? Anything useful yet?"

"No. It is surprisingly detailed in its account of the Rozen Maiden, more so than any other source I have read to date. Thus far though I have not encountered any mention of the doll Barasuishou describes."

The silence returned, and to Jun's dismay he realised that Shinku was _still_ watching him. Why didn't she go back to reading the book? She loved reading, and a detailed book about Rozen Maiden ought to grab her attention like none other. So what was her deal?

When he could stand it no longer, Jun pushed his chair back from the computer and turned to face Shinku directly. "Okay, are you gonna tell me why you've been staring at me for the last five minutes?"

"Is it a problem?"

"Well ... uh, no. I was just wondering why."

"Haven't you ever felt the desire to stare at me?" Shinku asked bluntly, yet soft spoken. Jun went slightly red.

"I ... I guess so."

Now Shinku did look away from him, seeming to turn her attention back to the book on her lap, yet Jun saw her smile. "I simply felt the desire to stare at the boy who confessed his love for me, that is all. If you ever feel the need to stare at me, please feel free to do so."

Jun couldn't quite believe what he'd just heard. He had to run her words past his mind a few times just to make certain he hadn't imagined it. He even found himself jabbing a fingernail into the palm of his hand just to be sure he hadn't fallen asleep at the computer. The stinging pain felt real enough, so Shinku must have said what she'd just said. And he thought ...

What the heck do I say to something like that?

"Shinku, about that ..."

Shinku looked up at him expectantly. "Yes?"

Oh hell, Jun thought, I can't believe I'm going to say this. You don't have to say this you know, you could say something else. You could say nothing. You could actually say the word 'nothing'. But no, you still remember what it was like when she was gone, and you're going to say this instead ...

"You know I meant every word, right?"

Shinku's smile widened a little and a tiny red blush appeared on her cheeks. "That is good to hear, Jun. I hope you know I feel the same way."

Jun couldn't look at her because he was worried his face was mimicking the colour of her dress like a chameleon. He stared at the floor in awkward silence instead, and mercifully Shinku said nothing further. Well there, he'd said it. It was hugely embarrassing to say, but the horrible sense of loss and despair he'd felt when Shinku had left him still lingered in the back of his mind like a sour taste, and he had no desire to feel it ever again. If that meant he had to actually be honest with her and speak his mind, then he would just have to suck it up and do that, no matter how embarrassing it might be.

And besides it did sort of feel good, in a hot, glowing, Ican'tbelieveIjustsaidthat sort of way.

"Jun!" Shinku said suddenly. Startled, Jun looked back up at her and saw her pouring over the pages of the book, an expression of intense concentration and just a little exhilaration on her face. Jun got up and sat down on the bed beside her, peering at the pages. Unfortunately the book was in German and he couldn't read a word of it.

"What is it?"

"I believe this is the clue that Barasuishou referred to," she said. Knowing full well that Jun couldn't understand a word of German, she read the entry in question out loud for him.

_The Pandora Pyxis_

_Whilst the Rozen Maiden are perhaps the most well-known living creations in doll-lore, they are by no means unique. There is a legend that predates the Rozen Maiden by centuries, a story told by master dollmakers. It speaks of a mythical first doll, that is to say the first living doll ever created._

_Her name was Pandora._

_Like the Rozen Maiden, Pandora slept in a doll case. Referred to as the 'Pyxis' (Latin for box), it is more commonly known as Pandora's Box, an object of near universal renown. Also like the Rozen Maiden, Pandora possessed an artificial spirit, named Hope. According to the tale, Hope had enormous powers and it was said that it could heal all ills, vanquish all evil and grant ones hearts desire. This element of the legend effectively turned Pandora's Box from the source of all darkness and despair into a virtual Aladdin's Lamp. For that reason the Pyxis has long been sought by treasure hunters privy to this version of the tale, each hoping to make Hope their own._

_The current whereabouts of the Pyxis are a complete mystery, if indeed it ever existed. A rumour whispered among certain circles however, claims that the Box was last known to be in the possession of the dollmaker Rozen himself, who it is said acquired it when he was a young boy. If true, then Pandora may have served as a template of sorts, a prototype to the Rozen Maiden dolls._

Shinku stopped there. It was a short entry, but it was enough. Beside her, Jun leaned back and ran his hand through his hair, letting out a low whistle.

"Geez, no wonder Rozen never mentioned this as an alternative to the Alice game. Pandora's Box. Finding that will be like finding the Ark of the Covenant, or the Chintamani Stone. I don't suppose he still has it ... that would probably be too easy. He must have lost the thing. What do you think? Shinku?"

Shinku had turned the page and was staring at an illustration. It was an artists sketch of what the Pyxis might look like. Jun thought it bore an uncanny resemblance to the Rozen Maiden doll cases, but with one distinct difference. In place of the rose design on the lid, there was a fleur-de-lis. Shinku seemed to fixate on it, her eyes wide, as if it were the single most important thing in all the world.

"What is it?"

She pointed. "This symbol on the box. I recognise it."

"Well yeah, you see it all over the place. Lots of people use it. It's meant to represent the lily isn't it?"

Shinku turned to Jun, her face practically glowing. Jun had never seen her look this way before. She seemed almost entranced. It was a little bit scary.

"Jun ... that symbol holds a special significance to the Rozen Maiden. It is the symbol of our home. The place father created us. Our birthplace ..."


	17. EP4: Cry Me A River

Okay so I was going to drag this episode out, but then I changed my mind. So you have a very short chapter here instead as the end of episode four. On the plus side I can get to work on episode five now, which is set to be my horror movie spoof. Think Toys in the Attic from Cowboy Bebop if you've ever watched that show.

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE 4

Cry Me A River

* * *

A pounding at his door prompted Jun to get up and open it, whereupon a very angry Suiseiseki strutted past him without sparing him so much as a glance. Jun and Shinku watched as she crossed the bedroom, stopped at the bed and then crawled under it.

Time passed.

"Uh," said Jun. Shinku closed her book, set it to one side and sighed. This was going to be a long night.

"Your behaviour is quite unbecoming," said Shinku to the room at large.

"I so don't care!" came the muffled reply. Jun sank down onto his knees in front of the bed and sagged.

"Geez, what the heck is your problem anyway? I thought you'd be pleased to see Souseiseki again ..." When no answer was forthcoming he leaned down and peeked under the bed. Suiseiseki was lying on her front, resting her chin on her hands and glowering at him with an extremely disgruntled expression.

"Go away you," she muttered.

"How long are you planning on staying under there?" Jun asked in an annoyed tone of voice. Suiseiseki's scowl deepened.

"However long I want. I might just stay here forever, see if I don't."

"Don't be stupid, what are you going to do when you're hungry?"

"I'm a doll, I don't have to eat if I don't want to."

Jun groaned. "This is getting silly. Come out of there right now! I'm your Master - you have to do what I say right? So move it!"

Suiseiseki barred her teeth at him like a stray cat. "As if I would take orders from a puny little runt like you! You always treat me like a second rate doll, it's a wonder you even remember that you're my Medium!"

"That's it!" Jun made the foolish mistake of sticking his hand under the bed to try and grab the stubborn doll, and was rewarded with a sharp pain as Suiseiseki sank her teeth into his finger. He cried out and yanked his hand back, sitting up and clutching the stricken digit in shock. "She bit me! That damn rotten doll bit me!"

Suiseiseki growled. "Honestly! Did you hear what he just called me?"

Jun knelt back down and glared at her. "Talk about the pot calling the kettle!" He stopped when he saw Suiseiseki's eyes widen in surprise, and turned to see Souseiseki standing behind him.

"She's giving you trouble I see."

"You could say that," said Shinku calmly, still sitting on the bed.

"You're so bothersome," Souseiseki said, addressing her twin as she strode over to Jun and knelt down beside him. Suiseiseki scurried further back under Jun's bed as her sister regarded her. "You didn't have to slap me so hard," she went on, rubbing the side of her face, "It still hurts."

Jun glanced sideways at her and blinked with surprise. "No way, she slapped you?"

"Sh-she deserved it!" Suiseiseki whimpered. Jun thought she looked more miserable than angry now. He frowned.

"What could she possibly have done to deserve that?"

"It's okay Jun," Souseiseki spoke in her normal quiet voice, "She's right; I did deserve it."

Shinku slid off the bed and landed beside Souseiseki. She glanced at her pocket watch and then tucked it away once more. "Come Jun, let us assist Nori in preparing supper."

Jun hesitated, unsure if it was such a good idea to leave the twins alone together given Suiseiseki's current behaviour. A brief nod from Souseiseki convinced him to go however, and he reached down to pick Shinku up. When the bedroom door shut behind them, Souseiseki turned her attention back to her troubled sibling. She laid herself flat on the floor and slowly pulled herself forwards until she was under the bed as well. Suiseiseki shuffled about so as to put some distance between them, and faced her sister with renewed anger in her eyes.

"I told you to leave me alone."

"Do we have to have this discussion under Jun's bed?"

Suiseiseki crossed her arms in front of her, making as defiant a posture as was possible under the circumstances. "I'm not moving an inch from here until you're gone."

Souseiseki winced. "I see. Do you really want me to go that badly?"

Suiseiseki said nothing, though her expression softened for just an instant. Souseiseki sighed and shook her head. "I don't want to leave you Suiseiseki, but if that's what you want then I'll go."

Suiseiseki still did not speak, though she lowered the bottom half of her face onto her crossed arms and let out a whine. Souseiseki tilted her head to one side.

"Won't you at least tell me why you hate me so much?"

"How can you say that?" Suiseiseki murmured softly, her gaze unfocused. "I could never hate you, I love you more than anything. And that's the problem."

"I don't understand."

"Of course you don't!" Suiseiseki buried her face in her arms now, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed. "For years and years I promised that I'd protect you and be with you no matter what, even if it came to the Alice game. And when the Alice game finally arrived, I kept my promise. I chose you over father," she looked up and gazed directly into her twins eyes, her own wet with tears, her face utterly distraught, "But you didn't! You chose father over me! Don't you get it at all? Don't you understand how much that hurt me?"

"Suiseiseki ..."

"As Rozen Maiden, our destiny is to fight and become Alice. It's the very reason for our existence. And I threw that all aside because I cared more for you than my own destiny, more than seeing father. You meant more to me than anything in the whole world, and _that_ meant _nothing_ to you! I told you I'd never want to become Alice if it meant fighting you, and your only answer was to push me away. You ... you said you'd cut me down. You ... you would have killed me just to please father! That's so wrong!"

Suiseiseki buried her face in her arms once more and cried, great wracking sobs that cut the very air with their pain. Her tears came so thick and fast that the sleeves of her dress were stained dark with them. When she started to wail, really genuinely wail with despair, Souseiseki could take it no more and crawled out from under the bed. She leaned her back against it, listening to Suiseiseki's cries.

For a long time Souseiseki did and said nothing. She sat there, drinking in her sister's pain, letting it stab and burn at her, twist her heart and crush her soul. She deserved it, all of it. The pain, the slap, the angry words, every last twinge of guilt and remorse. For all her life Suiseiseki had always been there to look out for her and protect her. Souseiseki had looked up to her, admired her strength and determination. Despite all of that, when the time had come ... she had turned her back on Suiseiseki. She had pushed her away.

And yet ...

"I wouldn't have done it," she spoke quietly, though her words carried enough weight to stop Suiseiseki's sobs, at least for a moment. Souseiseki stared across the room without really seeing anything. She was too busy looking inside her own mind.

"Even though I was determined to become Alice," she went on, "A part of me knew that I would never be able to. I lied to myself. I told myself I would become Alice and end father's grief. But ... even then, when I told all of you what I intended to do, I knew I would fail. Because ..." she looked up, as if she could see the truth floating in the air in front of her. She blinked at it, almost surprised by what it revealed. "Because I could never hurt you. Not intentionally. I knew deep down that if the time ever came ... if you and I were the last Rozen Maiden left, and you were all that was standing between me and Alice ... I would falter."

"Souseiseki ..." her name came in a barely audible whisper from under the bed, and was followed by repeated sniffing. Souseiseki lowered her gaze and closed her eyes, smiling at something.

"I never should have entered the Alice game Suiseiseki. I never had a chance of winning it, not with you around. I lied when I said I would cut you down. I would sooner cut myself down than strike you. I guess I ... I do love you more than father. I just couldn't bring myself to admit it."

It came as something of a surprise when Suiseiseki suddenly wrapped her arms around her. Her face, still wet with tears, pressed against Souseiseki's, and still she wept.

"You're such a cry-baby Suiseiseki."

"Is it any wonder with such a rotten little sister?" Suiseiseki hiccupped and released her. Souseiseki smiled and brushed the tears from her face, or at least tried to. There were so many it was like trying to mop a flooded room. Suiseiseki reached across and wiped her twins cheek, which was damp from when she had hugged her. "You never cry. You always say that I'm the strong one, but I'm the one that always cries."

Souseiseki clutched her sister's hand and held it against her face, lovingly. "I think that's because you cry for me Suiseiseki. You take all my pain and sadness and grief into yourself so I don't have to feel it. You shoulder my burdens, that's why you're so strong. I'd be lost without you."

Suiseiseki sniffled, looking slightly embarrassed. "Well of course! What's a big sister for?"

Souseiseki let go of her hand, leaned forwards and gently kissed Suiseiseki on the cheek, before whispering to her, "I'll never leave you again. That's a promise."

* * *

Jun: Okay, calm down everyone. Just because the power and phone lines are out doesn't mean that we need to worry.

Hina: But Hina doesn't like the dark!

Suiseiseki: Stop blubbering you puny runt!

*strange noise*

Suiseiseki: Waaah! W-what was that?

Souseiseki: It sounded like it came from upstairs ...

Shinku: Jun, go upstairs and investigate the strange noise.

Jun: Hey! Why the heck do I have to go?

Shinku: Because I said so.

Jun: Next time on Rozen Maiden: Märchen,

Suiseiseki: They're coming outta the walls ... they're coming outta the goddamn walls!

Jun: Hey, that's not the line!


	18. EP5: Start of Darkness

Number five is alive! And here I present the first chapter of my horror episode. It's just a shame I couldn't have it set on Halloween, but I already had a recent episode set on Valentines Day.

Disclaimer: The author makes no promise that the following episode will be at all funny. In fact it probably won't be, but maybe you'll be nice and lie about it, and tell her that it actually is. And maybe you'll also give her lots of chocolate, because she hasn't had any in a while and she's starting to get kinda annoying ...

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE 5

Start of Darkness

* * *

It all started when the credits began to roll, which is an odd place for something to begin, but then it was an odd night.

Earlier that day Nori had suggested that Tomoe and Hinaichigo have a sleep over, as they were all going to stay up late and watch a scary movie. Souseiseki was there too. She was now permanently living at the Sakurada house after a tearful farewell to grandmother and grandfather. She and Suiseiseki nevertheless promised to visit them often. Barasuishou was staying the night at Micchan's place with Kanaria. The reason for this was a long one, but the short of it was that Jun had given Micchan Barasuishou for the day to stop her from bugging him. The chance to play with and dress up a new living doll was more than enough to keep her occupied, though Jun felt a brief twinge of guilt at subjecting Barasuishou to such a fate, especially since he was supposed to be looking after her. The Enju doll herself seemed to have no opinion on the matter one way or the other.

The scary film they'd selected to watch was the Ring. Considering that the dolls had been almost terrified by a mildly frightening episode of Kunkun once, this movie had the approximate chilling effect of being dropped into the middle of Antarctica whilst wearing nothing but a pair of shades. Tomoe and Jun were the only two present that didn't feel as if a white-hot brand of flaming terror had been seared across their soul. The fact that they'd watched the film incredibly late and with the lights off had only served to amplify the trauma the others had endured.

"Is it ... is it finished? Can Hina open her eyes now?" Hina was on the verge of tears, and had been clutching Shinku's dress for the last half an hour, trembling occasionally as the sounds of the film had threatened to make her scream.

"That was horrible, that was absolutely horrible!" Suiseiseki complained, "I swear if I ever watch another human movie again it will be too soon!" She was holding on tightly to Souseiseki as if she were a comforting plushie. Even Souseiseki was visibly shaken, and didn't object to the fact that her sister was so squashed up to her.

The same could not be said for Jun, who'd had to endure _his_ sister getting uncomfortably close over the course of the film. As events got progressively more frightening he had to outright pry her off himself before Tomoe got the wrong idea about them. It was downright embarrassing, and in hindsight he probably should have picked a better place to sit.

"Nori, the film is over now. You can let go of me. Seriously. Nori!"

"Ohhh, Jun-kun!" Nori wailed. She was holding onto her little brothers arm tightly enough to make his eyes water, and looked as if she would rather chew through the furniture than let go. Jun gave her an exasperated sigh.

"How is it that you're older than me but _you're_ the one who's scared?"

"That's because you are a boy of unusual courage, Jun," Shinku said abruptly, smoothing the creases from her dress where Hina had been wringing it. Jun blinked at her, surprised by the compliment. The moment was unfortunately ruined by Suiseiseki, who gave a sharp laugh.

"As if! The puny runts courage is as small as his teeny tiny-"

"Hey! At least I didn't just spend the last hour and a half cowering into the cushions because of a dumb film!"

"-tree! What was that? I so was not cowering! Take that back you!"

The argument was interrupted when Tomoe found the light switch, bathing the living room in a soft, safe glow. It served to take the edge off the accumulated fear, but it was still there, lurking in forefront of their minds. Outside everything was unnaturally still and quiet. Deathly so.

"I think we should all go to bed now, it's really late," said Tomoe, ever the voice of reason. Jun heartily agreed and looked forward to getting his head down. He got up, or at least tried to, and found that Nori was _still_ holding on to him. She looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"Jun, would it be okay if I slept in your room tonight?"

* * *

Jun finished brushing his teeth and shut the bathroom door behind him, before slowly padding up the stairs towards his bedroom. Nori would _not_ be staying in his room. He'd had to remind her that they'd made a bed up in her room for Tomoe, so she wouldn't be alone anyway. It was annoying how clingy she could be sometimes, though Tomoe said she thought it was rather endearing.

Stifling a yawn, Jun pushed the door to his room open and stepped in. He blinked and stared across at his bed. He then blinked again, his eyes going wider the second time, as if trying to assess the reality of what they were seeing.

"Close the door Jun, you're letting a draft in."

That was Shinku. She was not in her case like the rest of the dolls. There was a good reason for that. It was just a reason that Jun was having trouble wrapping his shell-shocked mind around.

Shinku ... was _in_ his bed.

"Well Jun? Are you going to stand there all night like a statue, or will you come to bed?"

Various parts of his brain were fusing together and sending conflicting messages that threatened to deprive him of his sanity. Shinku was _in_ his bed. In _his_ bed. She was in his _bed_. And she was undressed! She sat there in her undergarments, the covers pulled loosely up about her, her expression as blank as if she were drinking tea or reading a book.

What. The. Hell. !

He pointed at her accusingly. "W-what the heck are you doing in my bed?"

"What anyone does in bed. Sleeping. At least once you have finished gawping like a stunned fish."

Jun shook his head, just in case this was all some kind of horror-movie induced hallucination. It wasn't. If only. "But ... you're a doll!"

"Yes?"

"You're supposed to sleep in your case."

"Tonight I feel like sleeping in a bed. Is that a problem?"

"Yeah, a big problem. Just where am _I_ supposed to sleep?"

Shinku looked away from him and pulled the covers up a little tighter. "Right here of course," she said with complete seriousness. Jun almost fainted there and then.

"I can't sleep in the same bed as you!"

Shinku regarded him again with her icy blue eyes, her face as still as a frozen lake. "Why ever not?"

He stopped. She shouldn't have asked that. It should have been obvious. What had happened to reality? Had someone stolen it and replaced it with a cheap knock off? He pressed the palm of his hand against his face and struggled to avoid blushing for what had to be the millionth time in his life. "Because you're a _girl_."

"Really now Jun, your powers of observation are remarkable," Shinku said with actual honest-to-goodness sarcasm, "Detective Kunkun would be impressed."

Realisation dawned on Jun. He lowered his hand and grinned at the doll. "Wait a second, I know what this is about - you're scared!"

Shinku narrowed her eyes slightly. "I haven't the faintest idea what you mean."

"You totally are! You're just like Nori - you don't want to sleep by yourself because the movie frightened you so much. Haha!" Relief flooded through his system like a prescription strength painkiller. It was short lived however, because at that moment Suiseiseki burst out of her case, her breathing heavy.

"It's no good dammit! I just can't sleep! Souseiseki! Souseiseki, wake up!"

Souseiseki opened the lid of her case and peered out groggily, evidently a doll who could drift off to sleep at the drop of a hat. She rubbed her eyes. "What? What's wrong?"

Suiseiseki clutched the rim of her case and leaned over towards her sibling. She was still scared and was trying to cover it up by being angry. "Thanks to that stupid movie the puny human made us watch, I can't get to sleep. I need to do something!"

"Hina can't sleep either," Hinaichigo whined, springing out of her case. She was visibly shaking, and held the bulky form of Mr Alligator tightly against herself for protection.

"Geez, all of you?" said Jun. This proved to be a rather stupid move, because it caused the three dolls to look at him. And then look at Shinku. Jun noticed them looking and started. "Hey, wait, this isn't what it-"

* * *

"Aren't you going to turn the light out?" asked Tomoe. Nori was staring at the light switch, clutching the covers of her bed for what little comfort they offered. She didn't want to turn the light out because then it would be dark, and once it was dark _anything_ could happen. The phone could ring with a message telling her she only had a week left to live. Something could crawl out of the television and come after her. _Anything!_

"Umm ..."

"It's okay," said Tomoe, adjusting the covers of her own bed, "leave it on if you like, I don't mind."

Nori looked from Tomoe to the light switch. She knew she wouldn't be able to get any actual sleep with it on, but then she also knew that she was so scared she wouldn't get any sleep with it off either ...

"Hey, Tomoe ..."

"Yes?"

Nori swallowed and looked at her with a kind of sheepish embarrassment. "Umm, I don't suppose you'd mind sleeping with me tonight? Only, I'm still kinda spooked from watching that film you know?" Tomoe stared at her for a long moment, prompting Nori to clasp her hands together and lean forwards. "Please?"

"Okay, I guess so."

Nori smiled and shuffled over to give Tomoe some room as she climbed into the bed. "Thanks Tomoe," she said, breathing a sigh of relief, "You're so brave. Didn't the film scare you at all? I had to bite my hand to stop from screaming at the end there," she held her hand out towards Tomoe to show her the faint teeth marks that were still visible. Tomoe smirked a little.

"So I see. To tell you the truth, I wasn't scared at all. Being around you guys makes me feel safe."

"Really?" Nori was surprised. Twice now Tomoe had almost died thanks to the Rozen Maiden dolls, and yet she felt safe around them? Strange. She reached for the light switch but stopped when something occurred to her. "You know, Tomoe ..."

"Hmm?"

"If you want someone to talk to ... about Jun? I'm here for you."

Tomoe said nothing. Nori watched her closely. She seemed thoughtful, although it was hard to say with Tomoe. You could take a bunch of snapshots of the girl and label each one with a different mood, and they would all look the same.

"There's nothing to talk about, we're just friends," Tomoe said at last. Her tone of voice was as neutral as her facial expressions, and Nori didn't quite have Jun's knack for reading her. She sighed.

"I know you gave him chocolates last week, and on the same day he confessed his love for Shinku. Loudly, from what I've heard. That can't have been all that easy on you."

"I'm fine."

"Are you? You and Jun have been friends with each other since the day you could both talk, and now you gave him chocolates on Valentines Day. You must have feelings for him."

Tomoe gave a frustrated sigh and turned to her. "What do you want from me?"

Nori was momentarily taken back, but recovered and leaned closer to Tomoe, concern evident in her features. "I want you to tell someone how you feel! You're always bottling things up and that can't be good for you. I'm worried about you Tomoe."

Tomoe was about to tell Nori not to, that she was fine, but something stopped her. Perhaps it was the fact that she was not fine. And yes, it was nice having someone worry about her. She needed to talk, but that was something she never really felt confident with doing. Except with Jun, and even then only just. She stared at the covers in front of herself, trying to put her feelings into coherent words.

"Jun and I are just friends. I wanted us to be more than that, but ... he's in love with Shinku. And she's in love with him. Nothing is going to change that, so I'm just going to go on being his friend. That's all I can do. And maybe ..." she hesitated, stumbling across one particularly jumbled knot of feelings that she found almost impossible to articulate, "Maybe it's for the best."

"What do you mean?"

Tomoe frowned and tried again to translate how she felt, but there was something that was just too confusing for her to understand. Or maybe just too scared. She sighed. "Nothing."

Nori was as sure as she could be that Tomoe was feeling down then, and so chose to wrap her arms around her in what she hoped was a comforting embrace. "Oh Tomoe, I'm sorry things worked out this way. You're a really great person and you've always been a good friend to Jun. If there's ever anything I can do you have tell me, all right?"

Before Tomoe could answer the bedroom door was opened, and there stood Jun. He stared at them for a long moment, aware that he was looking at his best friend and his sister in bed together, hugging. It also occurred to him that he should have knocked first. He blinked as Nori let go of Tomoe and both girls stared back at him. There was a strained pause before Jun spoke.

"You know, after what just happened to me, I'm not even going to say anything."

"What's wrong, Jun?" his sister asked. She got her answer when Hinaichigo appeared and wrapped herself around Jun's leg. He winced, as that was where Suiseiseki had fiercely kicked him just moments ago. Hina's big green eyes broadcast her frightened state of mind to the entire room like an emergency news bulletin.

"Hina's really _really _scared!" she informed them, just in case they had any doubts. Jun rolled his eyes and looked back up at his sister.

"Yeah, that. The dolls can't sleep. We need to do something."

Nori clapped her hands together as inspiration struck with remarkable speed. "Oh! I know! Why don't we all have a midnight snack?"

"Milk and cookies?" suggested Tomoe. The barest hint of a smile emerged on Hinaichigo's worried face.

"Unyuu?"

Jun leaned his head to one side and shrugged. "Sure, why not. It's Friday so it's not like we have school tomorrow."

* * *

As Nori and Tomoe prepared a late night snack for everyone, Souseiseki watched Shinku enter the living room, adjusting her dress. The Gardener smirked just a little and wondered over to her.

"Shinku, were you really going to sleep in Jun's bed tonight?" she asked incredulously.

"And if I was?" Shinku replied, flushing. Souseiseki reached over and helped her tie one of her ribbons.

"I guess I was just curious. Ever since you and Jun admitted your true feelings for one another, we've all been wondering what you intend to do about it."

Shinku thanked her for her help and smoothed her dress down, before considering the question. "I confess I haven't given the matter much thought."

Souseiseki eyed her sceptically. "I find that hard to believe. Well, either way I'm glad that Jun cares so deeply for you."

"Hey everyone, come and get it!" Nori shouted from the kitchen. They all helped themselves to a plate of chocolate chip cookies and a cool glass of milk, before sitting themselves down in front of the television again. This time the room was brightly lit and the TV was playing an episode of the Kunkun show from the DVD that Jun had brought down from upstairs. Shinku had the entire collection on her shelf, and insisted on handling the discs with extreme care.

"Please take care Jun, I do not wish the surface to become scratched," she had told him as he loaded the disc in question into the player. He _had_ been careful, he always was, and she still gave him an earful every time. Did she think he would forget or something?

Within ten minutes everyone was feeling a lot better, and the rank sense of fear that had climbed into their heads started to dissipate. Jun was just thinking that he might get some sleep tonight after all, when the television began to act up. The image on the screen jumped and filled with electronic snow, whilst the speakers spat out intermittent bursts of static.

"As I suspected," said Shinku, "your clumsiness has damaged one of my precious Detective Kunkun discs."

"Uh Shinku, I don't think it's a problem with the disc," Jun replied, watching the set with a growing sense of uneasiness.

"What's the matter with it?" Nori wondered aloud. Before anyone could answer, there was a very loud Thump from upstairs, directly above them. Everyone in the room jumped with fright, even Jun and Tomoe. The TV meanwhile had returned to normal.

Suiseiseki grabbed Souseiseki suddenly and shook her. "W-what was _that?_"

"I don't know," said Souseiseki, peering up at the ceiling, as did everyone else. The fear, which had been gradually seeping away like dirty dishwater down the drain, returned with a vengeance. Hinaichigo whimpered and climbed up onto Jun's head.

And then the phone rang.

It was the proverbial last straw, prompting Nori, Hina and Suiseiseki to fly into an outright panic. Muttering under his breath, Jun got up and went to answer the phone, whilst Hinaichigo pulled at his hair in an effort to steer him in the opposite direction.

"Hello, Sakurada residence," he said with forced calmness. It was probably Kanaria, calling up to complain that she hadn't been invited over to watch the movie. That or Barasuishou had all she could take of Micchan and wanted to be rescued asap.

"It's that scary ghost lady from the film, isn't it?" Hina whispered, staring at the receiver as if it might bite her at any moment. Jun frowned.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

For a long moment there was only silence on the other end of the line. Then Jun heard a sort of voice. It was as if someone had altered it to lower the pitch by several factors, and it sounded vaguely eerie. Metallic, almost. He strained to hear the words but then realised there weren't any.

It was laughing.

"Who is it, Jun-kun?" Nori asked, more than a little concern creeping into her own voice. Before Jun could say anything, the laughing stopped and was replaced by an ear-shatteringly loud tone, so high-pitched that everyone in the living room heard it. Jun yanked the receiver away from his ear and Hinaichigo clapped her hands over her own ears, wincing in pain.

"The hell?" He slammed the thing down and stepped back from it, glaring at the telephone as if it were a dog that had just bit him. Taking in several deep breaths, he held his hands out in a steadying fashion. "Okay, everyone just calm down."

Then the lights went out.


	19. EP5: Bump in the Night

A less than stellar chapter, but I've had a rough day. My TV burnt out and my dog ate my gloves. No, I'm not kidding.

A gazillion thank you's to everyone following this, thanks for all the support. I'd glomp you all, but as this is the internet you'll have to settle for an e-glomp instead.

*e-glomps everyone*

I've been planning on doing this episode almost since I started, and now that I'm actually doing it I've ended up changing it completely. I was going to do a kind of doll siege like something from a zombie film, but now I've had a different idea. Hopefully it won't suck.

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE 5

Bump in the Night

* * *

Micchan lay spread out on the couch, dozing gently with a bundle of pictures clutched in her drooping fingers. It had been a long day. Despite this, the two dolls were still very much awake. They sat in the kitchen together as Kanaria introduced Barasuishou to her favourite food.

"Sweet eggy omelette! Its divine taste is simply unmatched y'know?"

The second Rozen Maiden doll had slowly started to warm up to the scary BaraBara when it became clear to her that said scary doll wasn't going to fight her and take her Rosa Mystica. Kanaria still had a chip on her shoulder given past events, but Jun had assured her that Barasuishou was mending her ways and helping out. And, well, Micchan certainly liked her.

"You like this?"

Kanaria nodded, gazing at the food on the end of her fork with intense anticipation. "It's Kana's favourite snack in all the world. It's just so yummy!" She swallowed the forkful, a dreamy expression crossing her face. Her eyes sparkled with delight. Barasuishou tried some. Her reaction was not quite as ecstatic, though that was just her being her usual self. She still enjoyed the taste. Food - it was something she'd seldom bothered with before. She'd never realised what she'd been missing out on.

"It's good, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"So ... ? What's your favourite food? You must have one."

Barasuishou considered the question carefully. It was hard to say, although one thing sprang to mind. "I like chocolate," she said eventually.

The dolls were both currently sporting very frilly maid outfits. These were by no means the only attire they'd tried on that day, merely the latest. Barasuishou had actually enjoyed the experience. She'd never worn anything else before. It was amazing how much a different dress could change someone's appearance. It came as quite a surprise as well to learn that some of the outfits Micchan had her try on were made by her father, Enju. Apparently the woman had been a frequent customer of the doll shop before it had closed down, and had purchased many dolls clothes and other accessories. Her whole apartment was stuffed with dolls and doll-related things; it made it painfully clear where her passions lay.

"What's wrong?" Kanaria asked, "Is there a problem with your omelette?"

"No," Barasuishou shook her head and set her fork down, "I was just wondering if the others had finished watching their movie by now."

"Huh? What movie?"

Barasuishou rubbed at her left eye. "Did I not mention before? Sakurada invited his friends over to watch a late-night horror movie together."

Kanaria gasped, thunderstruck. She stared at the other doll in stunned disbelief for a long moment, before spluttering. "W-what? Invited? Together? But, but ..."

"Is there a problem?"

Kanaria slammed the bottom of her fork against the table. "You're damn right! How could they not invite _me? _I, Kanaria, the brainiest and most charming of the Rozen Maiden! It's totally scandalous!"

Barasuishou did not have a lot of social skills when it came to dealing with other dolls. Or people for that matter. So she chose exactly the wrong thing to say at that moment. "You are not the brainiest Rozen Maiden," she said, as if pointing out an incorrect math solution, "Souseiseki is. And I believe Hinaichigo is the most charming."

It was a sure sign of how mad Kanaria was that she hurled a perfectly good plate of eggy omelette at Barasuishou. The Enju doll briefly vanished prior to the dish hitting her in the face, only to reappear a split second later in the exact same spot. The plate smashed against the wall, the sweet omelette sliding down after the shattered fragments. Kanaria gripped the table and fumed at her.

"This is unacceptable! I won't stand for it y'hear!"

"What do you intend to do?" asked Barasuishou, seemingly unfazed by the fact that she'd just had a plate of food thrown at her. Kanaria crossed her arms and glowered at nothing in particular.

"Watching a horror movie, are they? Well then, Kana will just have to show them what _real_ horror is all about!" She sniggered, which turned into a chuckle, and then into outright laughter. Barasuishou watched her, bemused.

"Is the laughter really necessary?"

Kanaria stopped. "Of course, it sets a dramatic scene y'know?"

* * *

"Ow! My foot!"

"Everyone just stay calm! Ouch, Hina! That's my hair!"

"Unyuu, Hina doesn't like the dark ..."

"Jun-kun, do something!"

"Hey! Someone just touched my butt! I so don't believe it!"

"Sorry, that was me."

"Oh. Okay, never mind."

"Jun, the lights aren't working. I think the power is out."

"Oh for crying out ... Hinaichigo?"

"Yes Jun?"

"Can you call your artificial spirit?"

"Oh! Yeah! Berrybell? Berrybell, come out!"

And there was light. Hinaichigo's artificial spirit appeared, floating in the air right beside Jun's head, casting a soft pinkish glow across the darkened living room. Catching on quickly, the other dolls did the same. Lempicka and Sui Dream emerged from their respective owners and added more light to the gloomy proceedings. It also served to highlight something else.

Shinku hadn't called Holie.

"Hey, guys, where's Shinku?" Jun asked, casting his gaze about. The living room was a patchwork of multi-coloured light, and everything was shrouded in long shadows. But of Shinku, there was no sign.

"Shinku?" Nori blinked and looked around, "She was right here a second ago - oh! Jun!"

Jun joined his sister and peered down at the spot on the couch where Shinku had been sitting just prior to the power going out. She was conspicuously absent, however in her place, gleaming in Berrybell's light, was her pocket watch. Nori picked it up and opened it.

"It's stopped," she said. She turned to her brother, her expression clouded with worry. "Jun-kun, she's gone!"

Everyone called out to her, but there was no answer. A swift search of the living room revealed nothing. Indeed all of the doors and windows were still closed, just as they'd left them. In the seconds between the lights going out and the dolls summoning their spirits, Shinku had vanished into thin air.

"What happened to her?" Tomoe wondered aloud. Jun took the pocket watch from Nori and examined it, but if there were any clues to her sudden disappearance, he couldn't deduce them. He tucked it away, frowning. Everyone was watching him expectantly, save for Hinaichigo, who was still sitting on top of his head like a strange pink hat.

"Something odd is definitely going on here," he said, trying to figure things out. Suiseiseki snorted.

"You think?"

"We need to find out what's causing all of this," Jun continued, ignoring her, "and we need to find Shinku. Someone should also go upstairs and check out that sound we heard a few minutes ago."

The silence was so sudden and total you could have heard a hair drop. Jun scowled. "That'll be me then."

"Bravo!" Suiseiseki clapped her hands, "I always knew you had the heart of a lion, Jun."

"You're coming with me."

The clapping stopped and Suiseiseki looked as if he'd just suggested that she jump into an alligator infested swamp. She swallowed. "W-wait, what now?"

"I'm your Medium, remember? You'll be stronger and safer if you stick close to me."

Suiseiseki sagged, unable to argue with that logic, much as she would dearly love to. "Darn."

"What about the rest of us?" asked Tomoe. Jun reached up and removed Hinaichigo from his head, before setting her carefully down on the ground.

"You guys should search the ground floor and the garden. I'd suggest you and Nori each take one of the dolls with you so their artificial spirits will give you some light to see by."

"Umm, you mean split up?" Souseiseki frowned, "Isn't that the kind of thing that gets everyone killed in the movies?"

"She's got a point Jun-kun, we should stick together!"

Jun sighed and put his hands on his hips, doing his best to bury his frustration. Why did they have to argue? "Fine, stick together. But if you find Shinku and she's been torn into tiny pieces because you took too long to find her, just remember whose fault that'll be."

It was a mean thing to say, but it worked. They agreed to split up and search, and Jun left them in the living room while he and Suiseiseki headed upstairs to find out what the creepy sound had been.

On the whole Jun wasn't that scared of ghosts and goblins. He'd spent months buying cursed talismans and voodoo dolls online, and it was all just junk. None of it was real. Of course the Rozen Maiden were real, but he was used to dealing with them by now, even the crazy psychotic ones. Either way, he'd much rather face down a murderous ghost than a classroom full of people. If he could make it through a day of school, he could damn well search his own house in the dark without turning into a quivering wreck.

"After you," Suiseiseki said, standing at the foot of the stairs. By the dim light Sui Dream provided, they couldn't even see the upstairs landing. Anything could be waiting up there. Jun looked from the stairs to the doll. Brave he may be, but that didn't mean he was stupid.

"Ladies first."

Suiseiseki crossed her arms. "Well in that case, I wouldn't _dream_ of going before you."

"Just what the heck is that supposed to mean?"

"Just that if you don't want people at school to know that you don't actually _have _a cousin, you better march your girly butt up those stairs before I decide to tell them."

"I hate you."

"No you don't. I'm a lovable rascal."

* * *

"Operation 'Night Terror' is about to commence!" said Kanaria, lying on her stomach amidst the bushes of the Sakurada garden. She peered through her binoculars, surveying the area for any sign of activity. Unfortunately it was too dark to see more than a few feet in any direction, which was something of a drawback.

"What are you doing?" said Barasuishou. Kanaria yelped and dropped her binoculars. She looked up and saw that the Enju doll was now standing directly in front of the bush she was hiding in. She was also still wearing her maid outfit. Kanaria barred her teeth.

"What are _you_ doing? You're ruining my brilliant ingenious plan!"

"Ingenious ... plan?"

Kanaria got up, retrieved her binoculars and stuffed them away in her bag. There was no point in hiding; the darkness would conceal her as it was. She was simply being overcautious, that was all. She sniffed.

"I'm planning my stealthy insertion into the house, if you must know. It's awfully quiet though. I wonder ..."

Barasuishou turned and gestured towards the front of the house. "The front door is locked. There are several other ways you could use to gain entry, however I advise against it."

Advise against it? "Huh? Why?"

Barasuishou turned back to her, and in the darkness her yellow eyes gleamed like ominous stars. "Something has awakened within. I sense a malevolent presence inside, full of anger and hate. It is not safe."

"R-really?" Kanaria clenched her hands to keep them from shaking. "That ... that doesn't sound good, does it?" She cried out in alarm as she heard rustling nearby, and promptly burst into a panicked run. If she had been in a calmer frame of mind, she might not have ran _towards_ the sound. As it was she collided with something in the dark and screamed. Whatever it was screamed back at her. A moment later a soft pink glow threw some light on the scene and both of them stopped screaming.

"Kanaria?"

Kanaria blinked. "Hina ... Ichigo?"

"Hey, what's with all the screaming?" said Nori, emerging from the darkness. Kanaria looked from human to doll, utterly at a loss.

"What ... what are you guys doing outside?" she asked when her senses had fully returned. Hinaichigo cringed and looked around, as if afraid that something might spring out of the bushes at her. Besides Kanaria.

"Shinku's missing, and we're trying to find her, but it's really scary and weird things keep happening, and Hina wishes it would all just stop and go back to normal. Why are you here?"

Kanaria balked. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to admit that she'd come to break into their house and scare them all for not inviting her over. She thought hurriedly. "I, uh ... had a premonition, y'know? That something was wrong. So I came right over to help out. That's it!" she laughed, a short forced laugh. Hinaichigo blinked.

"Unyuu?"

None of them got another word out, because at that point a hole appeared in the side of the house. It was a strange kind of hole, as if the wall sort of sank in on itself. They stared at it with dumbstruck horror, and watched as several metal chains shot outwards and wrapped around them all. Hinaichigo closed her eyes and cried, whilst Nori panicked and struggled to free herself. Kanaria tripped and fell over, but the chain that ensnared her quickly and effortlessly lifted her up. Within seconds all three were pulled into the hole and vanished. An instant later the hole itself was gone, leaving no sign that it had ever been there in the first place.

Barasuishou walked into the sphere of light provided by Berrybell, who flitted about frantically out of concern for the now absent Hinaichigo. She extended her hand towards the artificial spirit and drew it close to her face.

"Tell me," she said in a hushed voice, "what has been happening here?"


	20. EP5: Amber Flame

Sorry this took so long, I had writers block. I should have this episode wrapped up by the next chapter, assuming my brain decides to cooperate (it didn't this time). OC alert for this chapter as well.

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE 5

Amber Flame

* * *

Kanaria groaned and opened her eyes. There wasn't a single part of her body that didn't ache magnificently, and someone was going to pay for that. Just as soon as she figured out where she was and what exactly had happened. She vaguely remembered chains ...

"Are you unharmed?" asked a familiar voice. Kanaria searched through her memory and found it filed under 'Shinku'. She blinked a few times and then sat up.

It was dark. Boy was it dark. She was in a room of some kind, filled with junk. Old toys, ornaments, bits of furniture wrapped in dust covers. She could only see by the light from Pizzicato and Holie, and the far reaches of the room remained shrouded in an impenetrable gloom. She was also imprisoned in what appeared to be an oversized birdcage of some description. Glancing about, she spotted Shinku and Hinaichigo in similar cages. Shinku was watching her, whilst Hina was still apparently unconscious.

"Not really," Kanaria mumbled at last, whirling around to try and find some way out. There was none, and the cage was sturdy enough to stand up to repeated shakes. "What's going on?" she whined.

"I do not know," Shinku admitted, "It would appear that we are prisoners."

Pizzicato buzzed at Kanaria's ear, prompting her to turn around. She watched the artificial spirit zip over to a sprawled heap on the floor not far away. As her eyes better adjusted to the poor light, she realised that it was Nori. She was chained and shackled to the floor, and was not moving. Shinku followed Kanaria's gaze, her eyes widening.

"Nori!" she called out, "Nori! Wake up!"

_"You're wasting your time ..."_ said a voice. It was an distinctly odd voice, with eerie harmonics to it, and came from the darkness opposite where Nori lay. Both dolls turned to the sound of the voice, but could see nothing.

"Who is there? Show yourself this instant!" Shinku demanded boldly.

_"You're in no position to be making demands,"_ it said, _"Especially since this is _my_ house."_

Shinku frowned and clutched at the cage holding her captive. What did it mean by that? "Who are you?"

Something moved in the darkness. Shinku tried to direct Holie towards the unseen figure, but her artificial spirit stubbornly refused to go anywhere near it, as if it was afraid of whatever was there. The light cast by the two spirits did manage to outline something, and if she strained Shinku thought she could just make out someone standing there, watching her. Someone short, as short as a doll.

_"Who am I? Why, I'm just a worthless piece of junk. An unwanted toy that was played with and then discarded. Forgotten and left here to rot, just like any old garbage."_

Kanaria barred her teeth and shook her cage again for emphasis. "Let us out y'hear!"

The figure shifted as it regarded her for a moment. _"Be quiet,"_ it said. In the darkness, they both saw two eyes glow with a fierce orange light. Before Kanaria could say anything further, her teeth and lips had clamped together and she could not part them no matter how she tried. She mumbled for several seconds and clawed at her mouth, but to no avail. Her shoulders sagged and she fell silent.

_"Much better ..."_

"My name is Shinku, and I am one of the Rozen Maiden dolls. I am sorry if you feel you have been wronged, but I assure you that it was not our doing."

_"Rozen ... Maiden? I know that name ... yes, now I remember. Father told me about you. The seven Rozen Maidens, competing to become Alice. You should have let me play as well. The game would already be finished."_

Shinku didn't know what to make of that. She peered into the darkness, straining to try and see the figure more clearly. "Who are you?" she asked again, "What is your name?"

_"My name?"_

Suddenly the speaker was there, right in front of Shinku, the move so sudden that Shinku jerked back in alarm, gasping with shock as she did so. It _was_ a doll, barely an inch or so taller than Shinku, with long cherry red hair tied in a ponytail by a white ribbon. She was garbed in an eighteenth century style coat made from orange velvet, a short ruffled skirt and knee-high leather boots laced up at the front. She glared at Shinku with orange eyes of questionable sanity, a sneer of barely concealed disdain contorting her otherwise soft, rosy features.

"My name is Kohaku," she said, her voice taking on a more normal tone now, "And I want my Master ..."

* * *

Jun sighed and shut the door to his sister's room. Whatever had made that noise, there was no sign of it now. He'd searched everywhere, even under his own bed. Nothing. Something bumped into his leg, though it was only Suiseiseki. He glanced down at her.

"I don't know why you're so afraid," he said, "If we did run into a ghost or something, it'd probably be more scared of you than you are of it."

Suiseiseki looked up at him with wide-eyed apprehension. "What do you mean by that?"

"Just that you're the scariest thing in this house by far. Ow! What the heck was that for?" he winced and rubbed his shin. Suiseiseki huffed and folded her arms.

"Honestly human, you have all the charm of an alligator with tooth ache. Would it kill you to say something nice about me once in a while?"

Jun frowned. "I could say the same thing to you," he held his hands up defensively when it looked as if he was about to receive another kick, "Okay! You're nice. In your own way."

Suiseiseki held off on delivering another blow, though only just. "In what way?"

"Umm ..." Jun searched his mind, thinking hard. Wouldn't it be nice if a ghost came along now, he thought. The spirit world failed to oblige him though, prompting him to actually come up with something. He scratched his head. "Well, you do make really nice roasted tea. You care about your sisters a lot, and you and Souseiseki help out with the chores."

Suiseiseki lowered her foot, suddenly feeling bad for hitting the puny human. "And?" she prompted, wondering what else he could come up with.

Jun slumped down and leaned against the door, staring up at the ceiling as if he might find the answer written there. It wasn't, of course. He 'umm'd and 'ah'd a few more times. "Well ... you're good with plants, and you always liven the place up. You're not as bossy as Shinku and Souseiseki are. You can be really kind when you want to be."

"Go on," Suiseiseki urged, almost unable to believe her ears. Jun regarded her wearily.

"You're kidding, isn't that enough? What more do you want me to say?"

Suiseiseki turned away, her nose pointed into the air haughtily. "Hmmph. Well, I suppose that will do for now. See Sui Dream? The puny human isn't a completely worthless lump after all. Wonders will never cease."

Jun sagged. "Geez, well don't let it go to your head, you could still use a lot of work."

Suiseiseki spun back to face him and waved her tiny finger under his nose, a smirk spreading across her face. "You so forgot to complement me on my looks, though. What's the matter, don't you think I'm pretty? Well?"

This caught him momentarily off guard. He looked about, but there were still no ghosts or eerie spectres come to his rescue, and unless he wanted _another_ bruise on his shin then he should probably answer. He swallowed. "I guess so."

Suiseiseki blinked. Then she whirled around and buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking with mock grief. "I'm hideous!" she wailed, "I'm as ugly as the ugliest duckling, this is terrible! I'm so ashamed! How can you even stand to look at me?"

"Err ..."

"I should lock myself in a tower somewhere to spare the world the sight of my ghastly features, lest I turn people to stone when they gaze upon my unsightly and horrific visage!"

"Don't you think you're over reacting just a little?"

"Oh cruel world, why do you torment me so? What did I ever do to deserve such a curse? Why me? WHY?"

Geez, though Jun, she can really act. They should put her in the school play - she could do Shakespeare with the best of them. He leaned forwards towards her, already regretting what he was about to say.

"Look, you're not ugly, okay?"

"You're just saying that. Such a hideous and deformed creature is not worthy of your pity."

Oh for crying out loud ... "Okay! Fine! You're very pretty, Suiseiseki. I mean it."

She still had her back to him, but she lowered her hands and stared straight ahead, grinning. "Really? You think I'm pretty?"

"I just said so, didn't I? Now can we get back to the others? Maybe they've found something."

Suiseiseki faced him with a rather convincing bashful look, a curled hand raised to her mouth. "Thank you Jun, it's very nice of you to say so. I'll be sure to let everyone know what you think of me."

"Oh man, I knew I should have kept my mouth shut," Jun muttered, getting to his feet. He made for the staircase, Suiseiseki trailing behind him. She chuckled.

"You're very pretty too, Jun."

"Just shut up already."

"No, really you are. That shot of you in the peach coloured dress, with the sandals and the ribbons in your hair ... I'm thinking of having it framed."

Jun stopped abruptly, causing Suiseiseki to walk into him. She rebounded and looked up at him. He was rooted to the spot and staring at the top of the staircase. She peered around his legs and saw what it was that had prompted his reaction.

It was a ghost.

Suiseiseki screamed and latched onto Jun's leg as if it were a lifebelt and she was drowning. The apparition, a black and white image of a doll she didn't recognise, ran towards them, laughing. The laughter sounded off somehow, as if they were hearing it through a thick sheet of glass. The ghost ran right through them, seemingly oblivious to their presence, and they both felt a chill at its passing. A few seconds later they saw a second ghost, this one apparently chasing the first. It was of a girl about the same age as Jun. They managed to move aside to let her past this time, and watched her jog down the hallway and disappear into Jun's room.

"Okay," said Jun after a while, "What the hell was that?"

"I don't know," Suiseiseki admitted, the initial shock and fear she'd experienced fading, replaced with curiosity, "I thought that girl looked familiar though."

"Really?"

She stared at him, scrutinizing his appearance as she turned the idea over in her head a few times. Yes, the resemblance was definitely there. She nodded. "I thought she looked a little bit like you, Jun."

* * *

Cautiously, they followed the ghosts into Jun's room. Sure enough, there they were. The two apparitions were on the floor, and both seemed very happy. They gave no indication that Jun and Suiseiseki were there at all. One of them was definitely a doll, given her stature and old-fashioned attire. The other ... Jun blinked, just to be certain he was seeing straight. Suiseiseki was right, the girl did look a little bit like him. She was wearing a school uniform, though it was of an old design that hadn't been in use for at least twenty years or so.

"These aren't ghosts," Suiseiseki said, not taking her eyes off the two laughing figures, "We're seeing an imprint of past events."

The girl lifted the doll up over her head and whirled her around, before setting her down carefully. She spoke, and again her voice sounded oddly distant. "The holidays are finally here," she said, "so I don't have to go to school tomorrow, or the day after, or the day after that ..."

"That means you'll stay and play with me?" asked the doll, a hint of uncertainty noticeable in her voice. The girl heard it too, and frowned.

"Of course I will. I told you that once the holidays arrived we would be able to spend more time together."

The doll looked away, her expression downcast, a stark contrast with her behaviour a minute ago. The girl rested her hands on the floor and leaned towards the doll, her brow creasing with worry. "Kohaku, what's wrong?"

The doll, Kohaku, turned away from her. Jun couldn't be sure, but he thought she looked about ready to cry. She rubbed quickly at her eyes, as if aware of that fact herself, and then shook her head. "Nothing, it's nothing. Really."

"Hey, if something's bothering you then you have to tell me, okay? We promised never to keep any secrets from each other. So tell me what's wrong."

Kohaku's hands curled into fists and trembled. She seemed as if she wanted to yell out something and was barely stopping herself from doing so. Her head bowed low and she blinked several times to keep her eyes clear. "Now that you don't have to go to school, does that mean ... does that mean you'll be spending more time with that Sakurada boy?"

Jun started with shock. Sakurada boy? What was going on here? He stepped into the room and advanced towards the figures with the slowness of a glacier, feeling the weight of something pressing unseen down on him as he watched the events unfold before him. Suiseiseki waited at the door.

"What?" The girl seemed taken aback. She hesitated. "Maybe. I guess. Why?"

Kohaku's hands clenched even tighter with sudden anger. Her eyes narrowed and she whirled around to face the girl, struggling to keep herself under control. "Now who's keeping secrets?" she snapped, "You're in love with him, aren't you? Admit it Eiko!"

"No way ..." Jun breathed, unable to believe what he'd just heard. He sank to his knees, a foot away from the girl that looked so much like him, and extended a hand towards her ghostly white face. "Mom?"

The girl spluttered, completely thrown off guard. "W-what? I ... no! We're just friends. We've always just been friends."

"Liar!" Kohaku stamped her foot. Pearly white tears were streaming freely down her cheeks now. "You've been spending more and more time with him! Do you think I haven't noticed the way you've been looking at each other? Laughing together?"

"It's not like that Kohaku," the girl insisted. Even though she seemed earnest, Jun knew she must be lying. This was his mother after all, and the boy Kohaku was accusing her of spending time with was his father. His fingertips passed through her face as if it were no more substantial than smoke. Kohaku fell to her knees, her hands lying limply on the floor, a look of forlorn despair on her soft face.

"It is like that," she murmured, as if speaking to herself, "You look at him the same way you used to look at me. You told me you loved me, once. I believed you. I believed you when you said we'd be together forever."

"Kohaku ..." Eiko reached out and placed her hands on the dolls shoulders, though Kohaku did not react at all, save to wince a little. Before either of them could say anything else, Jun heard a new voice, the voice of an adult. It sounded even more distant, and called out seemingly from downstairs.

"Eiko! Sakurada is here!"

Eiko glanced over at the doorway where Suiseiseki stood, though she was clearly not seeing the Rozen Maiden. Kohaku looked in the opposite direction. "Go," she said, the word barely above a whisper. Eiko turned back to her, tears gathering in her eyes, threatening to spill down her face at any moment.

"Kohaku, I do love you. I promised we'd always be together, and I meant it with all my heart. Don't be like this."

Kohaku shook her head sadly, a wry smile appearing on her face. "It's my fault. My fault for thinking you could ever love a doll as much as a human. Go. Your _boyfriend_ is waiting."

Eiko hesitated for a moment, wanting to say something to comfort the hurt doll, but her mothers voice called out again from downstairs. Jun looked up as she stood, waited a moment longer, and then made for the door. She vanished before she reached Suiseiseki, and Kohaku was gone too.

"I had no idea ..." Jun whispered, completely stunned by what he'd just witnessed. His mother ... his own mother had a living doll when she was a young girl. And she'd never said anything. Not a word.

"Jun, look," Suiseiseki pointed. He looked up and saw that the ghostly apparitions were back again. Something was different though. Some time must have passed since the scene he had just witnessed. His mother rushed into the room, though she was wearing normal clothes instead of her school uniform. Kohaku was sitting on his bed now. Something seemed ... off about her.

"I have it right here," Eiko said, hurrying over to the doll. Jun recognised the ornate winding key in her hand. She knelt before the bed, and Jun realised that the doll must be winding down. Kohaku was making sudden, jerking motions, and he heard the distinct sound of gears grinding and clicking. Suiseiseki finally came into the room and stood beside Jun, watching the scene unfold.

Eiko took a hold of Kohaku and reached around with the key, no doubt intending to insert it into the back of the doll and wind her up again. She stopped suddenly, and were it not for Kohaku's juddering spasms, Jun might have thought that the scene had frozen. Kohaku closed her eyes.

"You ... you aren't going to wind me. Are ... you."

Eiko pulled back, the winding key still in her hands. She couldn't bring herself to look at the doll. "I'm sorry," she whispered. Kohaku opened her eyes, which were filled with empty loneliness. She reached out with a twitching arm and brushed her fingers against Eiko's cheek.

"You promised we'd be together," she said, her voice as empty and lifeless as her eyes, "Be together forever. Ever and ever."

Eiko sniffed, staring at the key in her hand, still not daring to look at the doll. "Forever is a long time, Kohaku."

"You said you ... said you loved me. Me."

"I grew up."

Kohaku's arm fell limply to her side as the effort to move it became too great for her. Her head clicked back and forth, like a clock with a broken minute hand. She seemed blind now. Her eyes were open but saw nothing. Only darkness. "This is ... is all my fault. My fault. Maybe if I'd been ... been a better doll. If I'd been a better doll, you wouldn't ... you wouldn't ... hate me. Me."

Eiko closed her eyes tight and shook her head fiercely, splashing ghostly tears across the bedroom floor. "Don't say that, that's not true Kohaku ..."

The spasms were becoming less frequent now, slower. "Please don't ... don't leave me Eiko. Don't leave. It's getting dark. I don't like. Don't like the dark."

Suiseiseki clutched Jun's sleeve tightly, growing increasingly upset at watching the events before them. He wasn't exactly thrilled by what he was seeing himself. He felt a lump in his throat that he couldn't dislodge.

"Kohaku, It's ... for the best."

Kohaku slumped forwards against her chest, and Eiko wrapped her arms around her. Just before she stopped completely, Jun heard the dolls last words. They were almost inaudible, but he heard them all the same.

_"I. Love. You."_

And then she stopped. Eiko held onto her for several moments longer, and Jun wanted to scream at her that she was being stupid, that she could wind the doll up again if she wanted to. She had the key. Kohaku wasn't broken. But that was the problem - she didn't want to. She laid the doll down on the bed and put the winding key beside her. Then she dried her tears, steadied her breathing, and stood.

"Hey, Eiko, your mom said I should just head on up ..."

Jun and Suiseiseki turned to see a boy standing in the doorway, a black and white ghost like the other two they'd been watching. It took Jun a second to realise that he was looking at his own father. A part of his mind pointed out that his dad had terrible taste in fashion, even for such a long time ago.

"Right, sure, it's fine," Eiko sniffed one more time and gave a light cough, "So what do you want to do today?"

He stuffed his hands in his pocket and nodded towards the bed. "What's that?"

Eiko glanced around. "Huh? Oh, nothing. It's just a doll. Come on, let's go. It's stuffy in here and I could use some air."

They faded away, leaving Jun and Suiseiseki alone together, save for the green light of Sui Dream. The artificial spirit floated in front of Jun's face and pulsed at him. He didn't understand what it was trying to say, and he didn't care. He turned his head away, glaring into the dark corners of his room, feeling a deep sense of anger and frustration gnawing at his mind. The irony of the whole thing was not lost on him. He just ... couldn't believe what his mother had done. And then he knew. He knew where he would find Shinku, knew who was behind all of this. He stood.

"Come on," he said, "lets get Shinku."

Suiseiseki blinked. "You know where she is?"

"Yeah, I know. She's with that Kohaku doll."

"But ... where?"

"My mom discarded that doll when she was done with her. Like she was just a broken old toy. A piece of junk. Where do you put all your junk to keep it out of the way?"

Together, they both looked up at the ceiling. Suiseiseki gasped as she realised what he meant.

"The attic ..."


	21. EP5: Maid of Honour

Ehh, here is the final part of episode five. I can't say I'm happy with this one. I shouldn't have changed my plan for the episode just because I had an idea. Oh well, here's hoping I can do better with episode six. Next episode will be a Suigintou and Megu centric story, with some Bara x Kira stuff thrown in as well. I should be picking up the Pandora plot thread by episode seven.

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE 5

Maid of Honour

* * *

She remembered the first time they'd met. She was at her father's doll shop, sulking because he wasn't paying her any attention. He hadn't been ever since he'd returned from his trip to that German town - what was the name again? Lebensbaum. That was it. Apparently he'd found designs for a doll made by Master Rozen, and was using them to create a new doll of his own.

So she'd sulked. Her father was pouring all of his love and attention into making his new, perfect doll, and ignoring her in the process. Shirosaki had said it'd mean she'd have a sister, but to Kohaku, it felt more like she was being replaced. She wasn't good enough to play that stupid Alice game, so father was making a doll that would be.

Occasionally customers would come in, and she'd have to pretend to be just a normal, lifeless doll. Given her sullen state of mind at the time, that wasn't difficult. And then around late afternoon, she came.

Eiko.

"Back again I see," Shirosaki had said. She remembered the words as if it were yesterday. Apparently this schoolgirl had been to the shop before, but Kohaku had never seen her. She was by herself. Kohaku thought she looked kind of quirky, what with her thick spiky black hair.

"Oh! You have a new one!" Eiko had squealed with delight and made straight for Kohaku, who was sitting on the counter with her legs dangling over the edge. She didn't move an inch as the girl leaned close to examine her, with such a look of wonder in her wide eyes. She giggled with glee. "This one is so cute! Isn't she just adorable?"

"That one's not for sale. Master Enju made her especially."

The look in her eyes was replaced with disappointment. She tilted her head to one side, as if noticing something odd. "That's a shame. She looks kinda sad ... like she could use some company," and then she muttered under her breath, so low that only Kohaku could hear, "I know how you feel."

"Hmm, you know, I think you may be right," Shirosaki peered at Kohaku, who itched to move. "I certainly get the feeling this doll could use a friend. What do you think? Are you up for the job?"

Kohaku turned her head slightly in his direction, but Eiko missed this because she had done the same. She gaped at the shopkeeper. "But you just said ..."

"Well, to be honest Master Enju is busy with a new project at the moment. I'm worried little Kohaku here will just be left to gather dust on a shelf somewhere. We wouldn't want that, would we now?"

Eiko's face had lit up like a Christmas tree at the prospect of being able to take the doll home with her. She clasped her hands together and beamed at Kohaku with such enthusiasm that she looked for all the world like a cute puppy dog. "Oh wow, that would be so neat! Kohaku, was that your name? I like that. Well Kohaku, would you like to come and live with me?"

"That would be acceptable," Kohaku replied. The look on Eiko's face was so worth it.

Now, in the present, she looked into the same face. Or rather, the face of the same person. The face had changed over the years, and evidently so had the person. There in the picture beside her was her husband. That Sakurada boy, all grown up. And their two children, Nori and Jun. Children. _Children_. Kohaku's grip on the picture frame tightened. In a moment of blind rage she hurled the thing across the attic. It hit an old table lamp and knocked it over, shattering both the lamp and the glass in the picture frame.

"Such behaviour is highly inappropriate," observed Shinku, still trapped in her cage. She fixed Kohaku with her cool blue gaze, as if scolding her captor. "One should not treat another's possessions with such disregard."

"My, aren't we a well-mannered little doll," Kohaku sneered. She strode over to the captive Rozen Maiden, her hands resting on her hips. She stopped in front of the cage and met Shinku's gaze with her own. "I would have thought you of all people would understand."

"I cannot say that I do."

"No? So you can look me in the eye and tell me that you don't resent that girl there?" She pointed across the room to where Tomoe sat, her wrists and ankles bound with shackles and chained to the floor. Tomoe looked over at them, yet said nothing. Shinku regarded Tomoe for a moment.

"I haven't the faintest idea what you mean," she said. Kohaku lowered her arm.

"Oh I think you do. You and I are the same. We both love our Masters very much, and our Masters told us that they loved us dearly. Did your Master not profess his love to you? Swore to stay by your side for as long as he lived?"

Shinku didn't answer, but Kohaku could tell she was right by the strength of her silence. She chuckled, though there was no humour in it. "That's right. You know exactly what I mean. Well lady Shinku, take a good long look ..." she took a step back from the cage and presented herself with a flourish, "Do you like what you see?"

"Should I?"

"No, not really. But get used to it, because what you're looking at is your own future. Give it a few years, perhaps less, and your Master will abandon you for that girl over there. Just as my Master abandoned me for that human runt."

Shinku tightened her grip on the bars of her cage, her face a mask of self-assured confidence. "Jun would never do such a thing."

Kohaku laughed at her, a cold harsh laugh that didn't seem to belong to her. "And why not? Because he _promised?_ He's a human, and human promises carry less weight than sunlight. Not only that, he's the son of my Master. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as they say."

And there it was, the first hint of doubt that showed on her previously resolute face. There was still confidence there, Kohaku saw. Misplaced though it was. Shinku shook her head. "No, you're wrong. Jun is different. He would not-"

"Wouldn't he?" Kohaku snapped, interrupting her. "He doesn't seem so different to me. He even looks like Eiko. They're cut from the same cloth. But then, all humans are. Didn't one of your previous Masters lock you in your case and leave you? And what about little miss Ichigo over there?" She pointed across at Hina's cage without even looking. The doll within flinched and tried to edge out of the way, as if afraid the pointing digit might go off and hurt her. "One of her Masters abandoned her too. It's the same old story. Yours and mine just happen to share a few more details."

Tomoe managed to get to her feet and approached Kohaku as much as her chains would allow, which was not much. Both dolls watched as she strained against her bindings.

"You've got it all wrong," she insisted, "Sakurada and I are not like that. We're friends, that's all we are. It's all we'll ever be."

Kohaku rolled her eyes. "Where have I heard that before?"

"It's true! Jun is in love with Shinku, I've never been more certain of anything in my entire life. He'd die for her, I'm sure of it."

Kohaku snorted at her and folded her arms, glancing away into the dark corners of the attic with more than a hint of spite showing through in her face. "How very romantic. I wonder if he'll still feel the same way when he's older. When he wants _children_," she spat the word as if it were pure venom, "When he wants to build a life. When he decides it's time to stop playing with dolls and grow up. Do you think he will still be prepared to die for his true love then? Well?"

"Why don't you ask him," said Jun.

"Jun!" Hinaichigo jumped up and pressed herself against the sides of her cage, stretching her hand out towards him. Nori got up and cried out his name as well. She strained against her own chains, to no effect, but the sight of her little brother come to rescue them all was enough that she didn't care. Kanaria struggled to say something, but the curse Kohaku had placed on her was still in full affect, and all she could do was mumble. Out of frustration she turned and grabbed Souseiseki, who had been placed in the same cage, and shook her. The Gardener doll could only protest that she couldn't understand a word she was trying to say.

Shinku regarded Jun as if all of this were no different from any other ordinary day. "Honestly now Jun, you took your time in finding us," she tutted, "If you'd thought about it at all you would have realised where we were sooner."

"Nice to see you too, Shinku. Good job getting captured by the way."

"Oh, don't blame her," said Kohaku, extending her hands as she faced off against Jun, "I can be quite a handful when I'm angry ..." she flailed her arms, causing a mass of writhing chains to emerge from the darkness and ensnare Suiseiseki, who had been trying to sneak up on her. She cried out in alarm as she was lifted into the air and wrapped in metal like a cocoon, before being deposited on the ground beside Tomoe and Nori.

Kohaku smirked. "Do you have a plan B?"

Jun frowned and took a step closer towards her, his posture tense yet not hostile. He hoped. "Look, I get why you're doing this. You're angry. I would be too if I were you. What my mother did was wrong."

"How big of you, but I don't need you to tell _me_ that," she snapped, glaring at him with enough intense hatred that Jun was worried he might spontaneously combust right there. "Do you have any _idea_ what it was like? Being shut away in a dark place, all alone. For _years_. Alone with nothing but my own memories of her betrayal, playing over and _over_ in my mind. A constant reminder of my own gullibility and stupidity."

Jun scoffed at her. "It's not stupidity to fall in love with someone."

"It is when you bare your heart to that someone and they toss you away like a worthless piece of garbage!" Kohaku raged, flailing her arms some more. Jun heard movement around him in the dark, and wondered how long it would be before she decided to tear him apart. Her eyes glistened with tears that she was struggling to hold back. "She lied to me! She swore we'd be together! She told me she loved me and I was foolish enough to believe her! I trusted her, and then one day she threw everything I felt right back in my face and stuffed me away up here. Here, a graveyard of junk. Because that's all I was to her in the end; junk. Just a worthless doll that she could play with and then casually toss aside when she was bored with me."

"Yeah?" Jun snarled, "So get over it already!"

Kohaku blinked, stunned by his blunt words. "What?"

Jun shook his head. "I can't speak for my mom, so maybe you're right. Maybe she thought you were all those things. I don't know. Say she did. Do you think she was right?"

Kohaku lowered her arms, seemingly knocked sideways by his question. She cast her gaze about as if trying to find the answer to something she'd never even considered before. "I ..."

"The point is you can't let what other people think of you rule your life. I spent more time than I care to remember cowering in my room because I was embarrassed by what people said about me. You had one person turn against you. I had an entire _school_. Hundreds of people laughing at me to my face _and_ behind my back. It took me a long time to realize ... so what? So what if people think I'm some stupid sissy boy that sews dresses and plays with dolls. I don't have to let what they think of me decide how I should feel about myself. I'm not worthless, and I'm not about to let anyone tell me different."

Kohaku sagged, her head bowed as she stared at the floor, her arms limp at her side. "But it hurts ... even now after all this time, what she did still burns me up inside. I can't forget it. I can't forgive her. I hate her and love her at the same time. I don't know ... don't know what to do," she looked up at Jun, uncertainty clouding her eyes, her voice almost pleading with him, "What are you supposed to do when you love someone but they don't love you back? What are you supposed to do when they love someone else instead?"

Jun couldn't help but glance over at Tomoe then. She noticed and looked away, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. He swallowed and turned his attention back to the doll before him, desperately waiting for an answer.

"You move on. You have to. You can't force someone to love you. I'm sorry Kohaku, but you lost her. You have to let her go."

Kohaku scowled and glanced over at Shinku and Tomoe. "And what about them? How can I let you go, knowing that you will hurt Shinku the same way Eiko hurt me? I wouldn't wish this pain on anyone."

Jun took another step towards her and dropped to his knees so he was more level with her. He waited until she turned back before telling her, with as much conviction as he could possibly instil in his voice: "I wont abandon Shinku the way my mom abandoned you. I'm not that kind of person. I wouldn't do something like that. I care about her too much to ever hurt her that way."

Kohaku stared at him with a sort of sad, envious look. It seemed all the fight had gone out of her. He hoped that was the case. She jabbed a thumb over her shoulder towards Shinku.

"You know she's a doll?"

"I had noticed, yeah."

"And you still want to be with her?"

"Yup. Forever and ever."

"Why?"

Jun hesitated. _Because I just do_ was the first thing that came to mind, but he didn't think it would suffice. _Because I love her_ was another option, and certainly true. He looked over at Shinku and smiled as he thought back over all the time they had spent together, and the way she made him feel that made him want to be with her.

"Because," he said at last, "she makes me happy. Isn't that reason enough?"

Kohaku smiled as well, though hers was more a smile of sadness and regret. She sighed. "I wish Eiko had been more like you. But then if she had been ... you wouldn't be here, and neither would your sister. Don't you ever want children yourself?"

He thought about it, and was surprised to realise that it was the first time he'd ever thought about it. It had never once occurred to him before. Children? Him? He could barely take care of himself. Heck, he was still in school. How could he know what he might want five, ten, fifteen years down the line? But ... he sort of did actually. He blinked and looked up into the air, as if seeing his own future.

"No ... I don't. But you know, there's this guy called Rozen, and he has seven daughters ..." Jun glanced down at his hands, opening and closing them several times, before regarding Kohaku thoughtfully, "And it just so happens I'm pretty good at making things. Maybe someday ... I might."

Shinku clasped a hand to her chest, a rose tint blossoming on her cheeks. "Jun ..."

Just when Jun thought everything was settled and things might return to normal without any bloodshed, he was startled to see a violet crystal punch through the floor behind Kohaku. Barasuishou emerged from it, dressed in of all things a maid outfit. She was clutching a crystal sword in her hand and her intent was clear. Kohaku saw Jun's eyes widen and glimpsed a reflection in his glasses. She spun around just in time to be impaled through the chest by a swift thrust.

"No!" Jun cried out, but it was too late. There were numerous gasps and shouts, but it was all background noise. Seemingly oblivious, Barasuishou yanked her sword free. Kohaku dropped to her knees and clutched at the wound in her torso, her face a mixture of pain and shock at what had just happened. Jun reached forwards and took a hold of the stricken doll. "What did you do that for?"

Barasuishou frowned, puzzled. "She was holding you all prisoner."

"She was done! She was going to let everyone go! You didn't need to ... do that."

Barasuishou just stared at him, not saying a word. She might have shrugged, if she were the type to do such a thing. Jun cradled Kohaku in his arms and found himself staring down into her bright orange eyes. There was a sort of dark emptiness spreading behind them, something he'd witnessed before when he'd watched her wind down. He brushed a strand of hair from her face.

"Come on, stay with us!" Jun pleaded. It was no use, the damage was too great. She was winding down, and this time turning her key wouldn't be enough to wake her up again. He wondered for a brief moment who _had_ wound her up tonight, but the thought fled from his mind when she reached up and touched her fingertips to his face.

"Eiko ..."

Her hand dropped as she stopped completely, her eyes closing, one final juddering click heralding the end for her. The same instant, all the chains in the attic evaporated like mist in the morning sun. The cages containing the dolls sprung open, and Kanaria found she could speak again, much to the dismay of some. And then Jun noticed something - there were markings on the doll's neck. He pushed the collar of her velvet coat down to get a better look and was startled to see the word _Enju_ written there. He gasped and stared at it for a long moment, before turning his shocked gaze on Barasuishou.

"You ... you killed your _sister!_" he breathed, his words cutting through the air of apathy surrounding her. He thrust Kohaku towards her so she could see. "It's his mark! I saw him put his name on all of the dolls he made! Look!"

Barasuishou saw her fathers name on the now motionless doll he held, and shook her head in denial. The sword dropped from her hands and clattered to the floor, where it shattered into glittering fragments. She backed up into her own crystal pillar, which cracked as she touched it. Eyes wide, she raised shaking hands to her face but didn't quite touch it, as if afraid she might break herself if she did.

"No, it cannot ... I ... no ..."

Jun tugged the doll back and clutched her to himself, glaring at Barasuishou. "Well now I guess you know how it feels," he said, doing his best to keep the scathing anger from his voice, the rational part of his mind pointing out that she didn't know. She was just trying to help. "Now you know how they felt when you turned them against each other," he jerked his head in the direction of the Rozen Maiden, who stood around them both in shocked silence. "I just wish you didn't have to find out this way. She didn't deserve this."

He laid Kohaku's still form out before her and stood, before turning and walking away. Barasuishou took a halting step towards the doll before falling to her knees. She gazed down at her sister, a single tear rolling down her cheek from her left eye.

* * *

Jun: AAGHH! Why is my window broken again?

Suiseiseki: Don't look at me, I didn't do it this time.

Shinku: Suigintou, why are you here?

Suigintou: Because ... I need your help.

Souseiseki: You need _our_ help?

Suiseiseki: This is her dream world? It's even worse than the runts!

Kirakishou: Barasuishou, it's time ...

Barasuishou: Time?

Jun: Next time, on Rozen Maiden: Märchen,

Suigintou: The light of truth eludes us.


	22. EP6: Angel of Mercy

Here we are with episode six. This puts us slap bang in the middle of season three, assuming of course I ever manage to write a full twelve episodes. Hey, how hard could that be?

*whimpers*

UPDATE: I was offline for a while because my computer got trashed by a mega virus bomb (my virus scan counted over 1000+ infected files!) and I had to reformat my computer. It's working again, although I still have a ton of stuff I need to install to get it back to normal. Fingers crossed it doesn't happen again.

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE SIX

Angel of Mercy

* * *

Megu had changed.

Gone was the free spirited girl who would smile and sing, despite the sword that hung perpetually over her head. The girl who saw beauty in death; who waited with anxious anticipation of the time when she could finally embrace her own end and be free of the sick body she was trapped in. Gone, and in her place was ... something else.

Weeks had passed since the operation, and the doctors were convinced that she had recovered sufficiently enough to go home. Yet when her parents came to collect her, she had screamed at them to go away and leave her. Suigintou had overheard the entire painful exchange from her perch on the window ledge outside Megu's room. Things had even been thrown. She'd become so hysterical that the nurses had to sedate her.

Suigintou didn't understand it at all. Megu should be happy. For the first time in her life she actually had the prospect of _life_. The chance to live like a normal human being. Given a little more recovery time, she could go out, make friends, have fun. There was a whole world out there for her to experience. And yet ... her behaviour now was more akin to what one would expect of a person prior to receiving a new heart. Someone dying. But Megu wasn't dying, the very opposite was true.

It just made no sense.

Suigintou had listened to her sobbing into her pillows shortly afterwards, and decided to take off. She couldn't even begin to think of words of comfort in this situation, especially since comforting words had never exactly been her strong point. She flew aimlessly across town, trying to clear her head and make some sense of it all.

Kirakishou had done what she could not - fixed Megu's heart. But it almost seemed as if the girl didn't _want_ a new, healthy heart. Suigintou had always known that the girl wished for death, longed for it even, but that was because it had always been there. Looming in front of her like a grim spectre, ready to cut her down at any moment. Instead of worrying about it, she had accepted it, even looked forwards to it. So why, now that it was gone, was she more unhappy than Suigintou had ever seen her?

She found herself over the Sakurada home, perhaps by chance, perhaps not. She set down on a neighbouring roof and stared down through one of the windows. The dolls were watching television. Suigintou wondered briefly just why they found that thing so fascinating. She considered joining them for a moment, perhaps even knocking on the door as a polite person would do. Then she scoffed at herself.

"As if I would."

She froze, the coldness of her own voice shocking her. Did she really have to be so arrogant all the time? Would it hurt to go down there and spend some time with her sisters? The very thought filled her with a jumble of confused feelings. Would they even want to see her? That had never stopped her from barging into their house before, but now she wondered. She'd spent so much time being alone, she'd almost forgotten what it was like to have company. She certainly found herself hanging around Megu a lot. True the girl was her Medium, but saying that was the only reason would be a lie.

Suigintou gave an idle twirl. "I suppose I could stop by for a chat. It would be nice to see Shinku again ..."

She floated down into the driveway, over to the front door, and reached out to knock. She stopped when she noticed the button to one side and pressed that instead, ringing the doorbell. And then for some silly reason she felt anxious. She set down on the ground and waited patiently for someone to answer the door, the anxiety growing with each passing moment.

Something was wrong. Very wrong. A deep sense of uneasiness swept over her, making her feel slightly light headed and faint. Her hand felt suddenly hot and she lifted it up to see that her rose ring had materialised on her finger. Then it hit her.

"Megu!"

Her Medium was in danger - immediate mortal peril. That was what she was feeling. She took off into the skies in the blink of an eye, leaving a very confused Nori to open the front door and find no one there.

* * *

Suigintou made for the hospital with such speed that she left a trail of black feathers in her wake. The sun had already set and a full moon was high in the sky, casting a pearly silver sheen over everything. As the building came into view, Suigintou spied a silhouette standing on the roof and a terrifying thought occurred to her.

She wouldn't ... surely?

Unfortunately her uneasy hunch proved to be correct. It was Megu, and the girl was standing at the edge of the rooftop. She certainly wasn't there to gaze at the moon, and proved as much when she spread her arms and fell forwards, her eyes shut. She plummeted towards the hard concrete below as Suigintou swept in, her wings spread wide as she intercepted her Medium in mid-air.

It wasn't easy. Megu was considerably bigger and heavier than Suigintou was, but the doll wrapped her arms around the girl's waist and strained her wings until they felt as if they might tear from her back. The ground loomed closer and closer, and for a moment Suigintou didn't think she could halt their descent in time. So she didn't try to; she turned Megu's swan dive into a pendulum swing, transferring her momentum into a sweeping arc that caused the falling pair to miss the ground by a hairs breadth and sail upwards into the moonlit sky.

"You idiot!" Suigintou barked just as soon as she caught her breath. Megu opened her eyes wide and gasped at the spectacle below her.

"I'm flying ..."

"No, _I'm_ flying, and I'm carrying your sorry weight."

Megu laughed, the first laugh Suigintou had heard since the operation. "You came for me! My angel of death. You came. I hoped you would. Please, take my life now and fly away with it."

Suigintou was finding it more and more difficult to keep a hold of the human girl. She gritted her teeth and concentrated on setting them down in a deserted park before she lost her grip. Only when they were both safely on the ground did she finally let her rage go unchecked.

"Of all the idiotic, moronic, stupid, crazy - WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" Suigintou snarled at her, wanting nothing more at that moment than to slap some common sense into the silly girl. Megu looked as if she were ready to cry.

"You're not here to take my life, are you?"

"Of course I'm not, I just saved your life!"

"I didn't ask you to! I didn't want you to!"

Suigintou couldn't believe what she was hearing. She felt as if _she_ had been struck. "You ... you want to die that much?"

"Yes!"

Suigintou glared coldly at the girl for a long moment. Then she flew up to her face and slapped her. Megu turned her head instinctively away and pressed a hand to the stinging mark on her cheek. When she looked back at Suigintou, the doll seemed livid, and spoke with an extremely forced calmness.

"I could understand that before, but not now. A woman _died_ to give you that heart, and this is how you repay her? By tossing away the gift she gave you? That's your _life_ you're so casually throwing away."

Megu looked away from her, but kept her hand pressed to her face. "This is all wrong. This isn't the way it was meant to be. I'm not supposed to live."

Suigintou floated back down to the ground, letting the anger drain out before she did something even more drastic. She folded her arms and glowered at Megu. "So you thought you'd just end it yourself. Because you're _supposed_ to die."

"Yes."

"Show me where that's written, because I don't believe it for a second."

"It's my fate. It's always been my fate ... to die." She lowered her hand now and stared up at the full moon, the light reflecting in her eyes, giving them a bluish white hue. "I was promised death, and now death has been stolen away from me. And it's not fair. I want what was promised. I want what I've been waiting all these years for. I want-"

"To die," Suigintou finished sourly for her.

"Yes."

Suigintou gave an exasperated gasp. "And has it occurred to you that there are people besides yourself that don't _want_ you to die? Your parents for one."

Megu lowered her head and shook it sadly. "They hate me. They've been waiting for me to die as well, and now I've disappointed them. That's all I am to them, a disappointment."

Suigintou had to resist the urge to slap her again. She unfolded her arms and strutted away a few steps, glaring at a dark hedge as if daring it to do something to annoy her. "Fine then," she said shortly, "_I _don't want you to die. You're my Medium after all, and you've finally got the strength to be useful to me."

She felt Megu's gaze at her back, and it was angry. "You promised to use up my life. You were supposed to kill me. You said you would."

Suigintou rounded on her, meeting the girls angry gaze with a far more effective one of her own. "I promised no such thing, and I said I would take your life only if it suited me. It doesn't. I told you before, I'm no angel."

Megu's expression softened and she even smiled a little. "You are Suigintou. I was just wrong about the kind of angel you were. You're not an angel of death; you're a guardian angel."

Honestly, this girl was impossible. Suigintou scoffed at her and glared at a set of swings. "I'm nothing of the kind. Now are you going to come back to the hospital with me, or do I have to drag you there myself?"

* * *

They returned without incident, Suigintou ensuring that Megu made it back to her room without attracting the attentions of the night staff. She sat in her bed and stared off into space for a long time. Suigintou was reluctant to leave her in case she tried something else stupid. There was no telling what she might do in this state.

"Suigintou ..."

"What?"

Megu blinked and looked across at her, and for some reason Suigintou thought she seemed almost afraid. Of what?

"Would you ... stay with me tonight?"

Suigintou was taken aback. She _had_ actually planned on staying with her, but she certainly didn't expect Megu to ask her to do so. Especially since she'd just foiled her recent attempt to become a chalk outline on the ground outside. She nodded.

"Well of course," she said, extending her hands, "I cant very well have you hurling yourself off the roof again as soon as my back is turned. Remember, I'm the one with the wings, not you."

Megu smiled a nervous little smile and pulled the covers of her bed back, before shuffling over to one side. Suigintou stared at her for a long moment, not understanding the reason behind her actions. "What, you're not going to sleep standing up are you?" Megu clarified. Suigintou's eyes widened for a moment as she realised what the girl meant, and she hurriedly looked away, feeling suddenly warm. Was she ... was she _blushing?_ It felt like she was. Whatever for?

"No, I ..." she trailed off, thinking of her case back at the church. She didn't want to risk leaving Megu alone to go and fetch it. So yes, it seemed she was going to have to sleep in the girl's bed. Megu giggled as Suigintou climbed in beside her, which did nothing to alleviate the embarrassment she felt at her predicament. "I don't know what you find so amusing about all of this," she said.

"Well it's just that I've never had someone in bed with me before," Megu smirked, showing a little of her old self again, even if only for a moment. Suigintou scowled at her, but was at a complete loss for words. They both settled down, Suigintou watching Megu closely to make sure she was falling asleep.

"Good night, Miss Angel," she said as she slowly drifted off. Suigintou continued watching until her breathing became regular and steady.

"Sweet dreams," the doll whispered, finally closing her own eyes and allowing herself to rest. Just before the dream world took her, the spark of an idea fluttered through her mind and she snatched a hold of it before it could escape.

_Sweet dreams ..._

She would be paying her sisters a visit after all, because there were two in particular who just might be able to help her. Or rather, help Megu ...


	23. EP6: To Catch a Thief

Another short chapter here. This episode will probably be more than the usual four chapters.

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE 6

To Catch a Thief

* * *

DOLLHOUSE

The blog of Jun Sakurada

**#** I SOOOO ARRIVED!

We interrupt our regular schedule of boring and unimportant posts to bring you a special delivery by the one and only Suiseiseki! I finally convinced Shinku to show me how to work this computer gadget thingy. Isn't it amazing the stuff you humans come up with? Next you'll be telling me you made it to the moon.

Anyway, a lot has been happening over the last few days! We were attacked by a crazy doll named Kohaku. She was just full of surprises. Turned out she used to belong to the runts mother, who let her wind down and then stuffed her in the attic. If I ever see that lady I'll so give her a piece of my mind! Us dolls should be treated with kindness and respect. We're not toys dammit! Well, we later found out that Kohaku was Barasuishou's _sister_. Who saw that coming? Not me, that's for sure. Of course, Barasuishou being the homicidal maniac that she is only went and nailed her big sis. What a heartfelt family reunion. I kinda feel sorry for that Kohaku though; she doesn't seem to catch any breaks, does she?

The runt tried to fix her, but she was too badly damaged inside. Hmmph. Maybe he just needs to try harder. I bet father could fix her. I'd ask him, if I knew where he was. Oh! Father, if you're reading this, do you think you could repair Kohaku? She's not all bad. I mean she did scare us half to death and chain us up in the dark, but she was just in a bad mood. We all have days like that. And while you're at it, could you explain just why the heck you brought back Barasuishou and sent her to Jun? I mean I'm really grateful you brought me back and all, but she's not even a Rozen Maiden!

Speaking of which, she hasn't set foot outside her case since the whole Kohaku fiasco. The puny human tried to bribe her out with chocolate, but she was far too busy sulking to notice. I swiped that puny Ichigo's soft rice cake with strawberry and hid it in Barasuishou's case. She didn't seem to mind, and puny Ichigo wont think of looking in there for it. Hehe! I'm so brilliant it almost scares me.

What else? The play! The runt has been busy working day and night to make the costumes for the school play. He's also helping that Tomoe girl rehearse her lines. She got cast in one of the lead roles you know? I might have been worried for Shinku after watching those two act together (romantic scenes that had Jun blushing like the schoolgirl he so is), but I really don't think Shinku needs to worry at all. Jun isn't exactly Tomoe's type, if you know what I mean. You do know what I mean right? Well, let's just say her fondness for the lily flower is very symbolic.

Oh dear, I can hear that puny, puny Ichigo making a fuss downstairs. She must have just noticed that her soft rice cake with strawberry is missing. Took her long enough. I have no doubt that she'll hurry on up to point the finger at poor misunderstood Suiseiseki, who is always being blamed for things. I swear, I get so picked on sometimes it's simply unbearable ...

* * *

Suiseiseki hopped down from the chair just as an angry Hinaichigo burst into Jun's room. She ran towards Suiseiseki, swayed to a stop and pointed an accusing finger at the Gardener. Souseiseki lowered the _Die Geschichte von Puppe _doll book and watched the proceedings from her perch on Jun's bed.

"Give it back you dirty crook!" Hinaichigo demanded. Suiseiseki folded her arms and faced the angry doll with a look of disarming innocence, a look Souseiseki had come to know well enough to instantly suspect her of being guilty.

"I so don't know what you mean, has something happened?" Suiseiseki asked. Hinaichigo curled her hands up and shook with restrained rage.

"Yeah! You stole Hina's soft rice cake with strawberry! Admit it!"

Suiseiseki gasped, her expression one of utter scandal. "What? How could you accuse Suiseiseki of such a heinous crime! I swear, you have so hurt my poor delicate feelings with these baseless accusations of yours!"

Hinaichigo hesitated for a moment, seemingly uncertain. "But ... but ..."

Souseiseki rolled her eyes. "Suiseiseki, just give it back already."

"How can I give back what I don't have?" She threw up her arms and took a step towards Hinaichigo, "Go ahead and search me if you don't believe me."

Souseiseki sighed and returned to her book. "You're hopeless."

Hinaichigo gingerly reached out and started to pat her sister down for any sign of incriminating evidence. Suiseiseki promptly burst out into a fit of uncontrollable giggles.

"Stop it, that tickles!"

"Unyuu!" Hina whined, "You don't have it."

"Well of course I don't you dolt, didn't I already tell you that? Look, if you want to solve the mystery of your missing snack, just do what Detective Kunkun would do."

Hinaichigo regarded her thoughtfully for a moment. "Kunkun?" her face lit up suddenly, "Oh! What would Kunkun do!"

Suiseiseki nodded encouragingly. "Exactly. Kunkun would look for the likeliest suspect."

Hinaichigo frowned. "But ... you're the likeliest suspect Suiseiseki."

Suiseiseki almost choked, but she recovered brilliantly. "No stupid, not me. Who has been hiding away in their case for days and days without any food or yummy snacks?" She turned and pointed towards Barasuishou's case with a smug smile. "I present Exhibit A: one highly suspicious doll with a known sweet tooth."

"But ... but ..." Hinaichigo, despite not being the brainiest of the Rozen Maiden, nevertheless managed to spot the numerous gaping holes in Suiseiseki's logic. "Barasuishou hasn't left her case since she broke her sister Kohaku. Not even once. She couldn't have stolen Hina's soft rice cake with strawberry."

"Plus you do have a history of stealing Hina's food," Souseiseki added helpfully, her nose still buried in her book, "Past experience predicts future behaviour, as they say."

Suiseiseki growled at her twin. "Stay out of this you! If I wanted your advice I'd have asked for it, you rotten bookworm, you! Honestly, have you no faith in your own twin sister's innocence?"

Souseiseki peered over the top of the book at her, one of her eyebrows raised noticeably higher than the other. "Do you really want me to answer that?"

Hinaichigo, ever the practical one, had decided to settle the matter of Barasuishou's guilt or innocence by simply asking her. She knelt in front of the Enju doll's case and spoke with a worry-laden voice. "Umm, Miss Barasuishou? Are you there?"

Suiseiseki scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Of course she is dummy, she hasn't left her case in days remember?"

Hinaichigo continued regardless. "Umm ... Hina was just wondering if ... if you maybe had her soft rice cake with strawberry. Because Hina lost hers and can't find it. And if you found it and ate it, then that's okay, because it's really yummy and unyuu, and Hina won't mind at all, really."

They all held their collective breaths, as if waiting for something big to happen. The air itself seemed to tighten, as if the room was watching to see what Barasuishou was going to do. When nothing transpired they all let out sigh, as if an expensive vase had just narrowly avoided falling over and shattering. And then the case opened with a barely audible click that nevertheless echoed in everyone's ears like a thunderclap. Hinaichigo raised her hands to her mouth as if she could grab any squeals of fright that issued from it and force them back. Souseiseki lowered her book a few inches, watching intently.

The lid of the case swung open and Barasuishou sat up, looking for all the world like a lifeless puppet being tugged around by unseen strings. She fixed her empty amber gaze upon Hinaichigo and blinked a few times. Then she glanced down and picked up the strawberry rice cake that Suiseiseki had hidden there ten minutes ago. She presented it to Hina without a word, who smiled with delight and took it gratefully from her.

"Thank you!" she gushed happily. When Barasuishou reached up to shut the lid of her case, Hinaichigo held out a tiny hand to stop her. "Wait! Do you ... do you want some?" She presented the snack to her, prompting wide-eyed shock from the twins. For a long moment Barasuishou did and said nothing. Then:

"Thank you. No."

She made to close her case once more, but was again stopped by an insistent Hinaichigo. Hina leaned towards her, worry etched on her face and in her bright green eyes. "You shouldn't stay shut in your case all day. That won't make you feel any better."

Barasuishou gave a very faint snort. "I am not meant to feel better. This is my punishment."

"Unyuu?" Hinaichigo didn't understand. Barasuishou sighed, as if the mere effort of explaining pained her.

"Now I know why your father brought me back; to punish me for interfering in the Alice game. This is his revenge for what I did to all of you."

Hinaichigo didn't know what to say to that, but Souseiseki did. She closed the book and set it down on the bed, resting her hand upon the cover. "Father wouldn't do something like that," she said firmly, "He's not that cruel."

Barasuishou said nothing, not caring to argue the point. Suiseiseki had had enough of her moping though, and took several bold steps towards her case. "Honestly, you brought this on yourself. You were the one who attacked Kohaku. If you feel bad then it's through no fault but your own!"

"Yes," Barasuishou admitted, "My fault."

"Well then what are you going to do about it?"

She was silent for a long moment, evidently considering the question. They knew when she had her answer, for her eyes widened suddenly and she stood up. "I will get back what was taken from me ..."

They watched her close her case, tidy it away with the others, and leave the room without another word. Jun stopped in the doorway and watched her march past, paying him no attention. He frowned and turned to the other dolls. "Well at least she's finally out of her case ..." he stepped into his room and noticed that his computer was on and his blog was onscreen. He peered at it, noting the addition of a new post, his jaw dropping open as he read the first few lines. "What the hell is this? You've posted on my blog?"

"Indeed I did," Suiseiseki admitted openly and cheerfully, "Honestly human, the things you normally write are so tiresome it's enough to put anyone to sleep. What you need is some colour, which I provide in spades."

"_'Blushing like the schoolgirl he so is'_," Jun read incredulously. He grabbed at his head, as if afraid it might explode with uncontrolled rage, "You posted _that_ on my _blog?_ Do you have any idea how many people can read that?"

Suiseiseki raised a finger to her lips, thinking carefully. "Hmm, well judging by the average number of hits you get per post, I'd say anywhere between two to three hundred. Give or take. I dare say _my_ post will gain considerably more attention though."

Jun was torn between his desire to delete the new post before anyone saw it (too late, there were comments already!) and his overwhelming urge to do something unspeakably terrible to the nefarious demonic doll responsible. The latter won out and he chased Suiseiseki across the room.

"Yaah! The human is barking again!"

"I'll do a lot more than that when I get you, you evil little monster!"

"Oh! Oh! Hina wants to play tag too!"

"Ah-ha! Got you!" Jun held the squirming doll up triumphantly and glared at her, trying to cover the fact that he didn't know what to do now he'd actually caught her.

"Souseiseki, help! He's going to have his wicked way with me!"

Her twin gave her another raised eyebrow treatment. "You do know this is Jun you're talking about?"

"Hey, I can be pretty wicked when I want to be," said Jun, "I think I'll start by shutting you in the washing machine and putting it on spin ..."

His plan for revenge would have to wait however, because at that moment the window broke in spectacular fashion and a doll case came careering through. It hit Jun in the side of the head and knocked him to the floor, causing him to drop Suiseiseki in the process. Everyone (save Jun, who was dazed) looked up as the case opened and Suigintou emerged, smiling to herself.

"Knock knock," she said. Jun groaned as he lay on the floor, slightly concussed, while Hinaichigo cried out with joy.

"Yay! Suigintou's come to play!"

"Say what?" Suiseiseki picked herself up and stared with disbelief at her elder sister, still shocked by her dramatic entrance. Souseiseki frowned.

"Since when do you need your case to fly?" she asked. Suigintou floated said case down and hopped out onto the glass-strewn floor. She regarded Souseiseki calmly, and without her usual malice.

"Since flying into a window with my head is an insanely stupid thing to do. It's nice to see you, by the way."

Souseiseki blinked with surprise at this apparently simple statement. "It is?"

"Well of course. You being here at all just goes to show that this useless human isn't quite so useless after all ..." she turned and poked Jun gently with the toe of her boot, while he struggled to locate his glasses.

"That's it," he muttered as he found them and slipped them on, "I'm having that window replaced with bullet-proof glass."

Before any of them could ask Suigintou any further questions, Hinaichigo rushed forwards and wrapped herself around the black-clad doll, laughing happily as she did so. The normal response from Suigintou to such an act would be one of disgust, but she actually smiled and placed her own arms around Hina. Suiseiseki did a double take.

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with Suigintou?" she demanded, feeling as if one of the universal constants had just shifted. Jun sat up and snarled.

"A better question might be, why the heck did you have to break my window?"

Suigintou released Hinaichigo and glanced around at the shards of broken glass. "Yes, I am sorry about the mess, but after witnessing the dear twins enter your house in that way I simply _had_ to try it out and see if it was as fun as it looked. It is."

Suiseiseki actually sniggered, and then realised that she was sniggering at something _Suigintou_ had said and had the decency to look shocked with herself. Before anyone could say anything further, Suigintou chuckled and clasped her hands together. "Now, who's for tea? I'll even make it myself ..."


	24. EP6: An Eye for an Eye

I was going to have episode seven pick up the issue of Pandora, but with so many episodes still left to go I've changed my mind. Episode seven is going to be a short, silly episode where everyone acts OOC (with good reason). As for this episode, expect at least another two chapters before it's done. Thanks for reading and reviewing, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Rozen Maiden. However I do own Suiseiseki's watering can. She lost it to me in a bet. In my defence, she did tip the contents over my head before giving it to me, so I'm not giving it back in a hurry ...

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE 6

An Eye for an Eye

* * *

Jun, Shinku, Suigintou and the twins were all seated around the kitchen table with a cup of tea in front of them, prepared and poured by Suigintou herself. Suiseiseki was still having a hard time adjusting to the idea of her being somewhat ... nice, for lack of a better word. Jun wasn't sure he could get used to it either. Suigintou had always held so much bitterness and spite inside herself, and whilst there was still a hint of that every now and then, it was clear she was making a concerted effort to be amicable towards her sisters. It was almost disconcerting.

Shinku took a sip of her tea and Suigintou watched her expectantly, waiting for her reaction. She set the cup down, her expression carefully neutral, and gave a slight nod. "An excellent blend, I do believe," she said at last. Suigintou smiled, seemingly relieved, and Shinku regarded Jun. "See here Jun, this is how a proper cup of tea should be made. You could learn something from Suigintou."

Jun, who was leaning his head against his hand, snorted derisively at her. "Fine then, have her make your tea from now on."

"Certainly not. Preparing the tea is the job of a servant."

Suigintou leaned her chin on her interlaced fingers and smirked at Jun. "Quite true. And I do believe that is your job. After all I seem to recall you swearing to serve Shinku for the rest of your life. You were quite emphatic about it if memory serves."

Jun lowered his hand to the table and scowled at her. "Is there a reason you're here, or did you just come to make fun of me?"

"Make fun?" Suigintou gave him a look of mock surprise, "Oh don't misunderstand me, I actually think it's very sweet, what you and Shinku have together ..." she lowered her own hands and leaned towards him a little, smiling coyly, "It must be a very pure love you hold in your heart to fall for a doll, after all ..."

She watched him closely as he struggled to think of something to say and failed. Instead he looked away, his scowl deepening as his cheeks flushed red. Suigintou seemed almost surprised by his reaction, and leaned back in her chair. "Well well ... it seems my sarcasm was actually on the mark. Aren't you full of surprises. I can't say I blame you though," she added, glancing across at Shinku with a look in her eyes that none of them recognised. Shinku met her gaze and was startled by it, but Suigintou turned away quickly and spoke before she could say anything.

"It so happens I am here for a reason. There's a problem with my Medium ..."

She told them about Megu's heart condition and the subsequent transplant operation brought about by Kirakishou's machinations. This prompted a suitably horrified reaction from the dolls, made all the stronger by Suigintou's description of Megu's failed suicide attempt the previous night. Suiseiseki gasped.

"I so don't understand that. Why would she want to take her own life after finally being cured? It makes no sense!"

"Tell me about it," Suigintou sighed and took a sip of her tea. Shinku was right; it wasn't half bad tea. She might be a little rusty but it was something she hadn't forgotten how to do. "I'm afraid she might try again, and sooner or later she'll succeed."

"And you don't want her to die?" Jun asked out of the blue, his tone suggesting that he thought otherwise. Suigintou shot an irate look at him.

"No Jun, shocking as it may seem to you, I do not want this girl to die."

"She is your Medium ..." Souseiseki said, suggesting the most obvious reason for Suigintou's concern. Suigintou set her cup down and sighed again, heavier this time. Yes, it was going to be difficult to remove the resentment towards her. She couldn't blame them for thinking the worst of her, given the way she'd been in the past. At least she was here, making a start at rebuilding old bridges. She opened her mouth to say something but Shinku beat her to it.

"Suigintou cares greatly for this girl, as greatly as I care for each of you," she said, surprising everyone present, including Suigintou herself. Shinku continued, holding her cup halfway to her lips as she spoke. "When last she fought us in the Alice game, it was to save Megu's life, because she believed then that our Rosa Mystica would give her the power to cure the girl's defective heart. She did this not because Megu was her Medium, but because she felt a kindred understanding of her. Suigintou related to the girl in a way she had never done so before with any other. I know this, and I know how deeply she cares for her, because not so long ago I held her Rosa Mystica within myself, and felt all of these things. I know Suigintou is a good person at heart, because she cares for someone other than herself, and in doing so has changed for the better."

They all stared at Shinku in mute silence as the fifth doll calmly raised her cup and took another sip of her steaming hot tea. She lowered the cup and smiled warmly. "And also, I think there is a certain tenderness to the flavour of this tea that reveals the truth of what lies within her heart. Do you not think?" She looked across at the stunned assembly, all watching her with wide eyes. Suiseiseki peered at her tea suspiciously.

"Just what did you put in this?" she asked, holding it up. Suigintou continued to stare at Shinku for a long moment, perhaps more amazed than anyone at what she'd just said. She smiled sadly and gazed down at her tea, cupping her hands around it and letting the warmth flow into them.

"You've changed, Shinku. And here I thought I was just a piece of junk to you."

"Never," Shinku said firmly, shaking her head. Jun took a drink of his tea. It just tasted like tea to him ... but then Shinku was like a wine connoisseur of tea. He never understood why one pot of tea was unacceptable to her but the next he made was passable, despite both being made the same way.

"So," said Souseiseki, breaking the prolonged silence, "you want Suiseiseki and I to go into your Medium's dream world and find out what is wrong with her. Am I right?"

Suigintou nodded. "Yes. I could enter her dream world myself, but I don't have the same talent you two have for helping people. I'm no good at healing souls, and that's what she needs more than anything right now."

"Well why the heck should we?" Suiseiseki demanded, folding her arms in an aggressive posture. Souseiseki glanced over at her, surprised by her outburst.

"Suiseiseki!"

"What? Have you forgotten that she was the one who took your Rosa Mystica?"

"And then returned it," Shinku pointed out.

"Look, if you don't want to help, I'll understand," Suigintou said, "But I'm not asking you to help _me_, I'm asking you to help _her_. A girl's life is at stake here. And I'm asking - you all owe me. I could insist if I wanted, but I'm not."

"She's got a point," Jun admitted. Suiseiseki gasped at him.

"What's that?" She rounded on Suigintou, "Just how do we _owe_ you?"

"She helped us recover Tomoe's soul tree from Kirakishou," Jun said, recalling the time when Suigintou had dragged him to the hospital and forced him to kiss the poor unconscious girl, all in the name of saving her. Shinku nodded.

"She prevented me from sacrificing myself in the game against Laplace."

"She willingly gave Hinaichigo my Rosa Mystica so that Jun could bring me back," Souseiseki chimed in. Suiseiseki wilted under the relentless flood of answers to her incredulous question. She sagged.

"Well when you put it like that ..."

"Will you help then?" Suigintou asked, watching Suiseiseki anxiously as she waited for her answer. Suiseiseki glanced across at Souseiseki, whose expression clearly showed that she had no problem with this. She sighed and poked her teacup with her finger.

"Fine then, we'll do it. But if we make her better, you have to ... you have to ..." She frowned for a moment, struggling to think of something she could demand of her elder sister, preferably something humiliating. And then it hit her. She looked up at Suigintou with a triumphant grin on her face. "You have to make us all dinner!"

Suigintou blinked. "What?"

"Yes! _Double_ flower topped hamburger! And double strawberry cream cake for afters!"

Suigintou couldn't believe what she was hearing. She glared at her younger sister, fighting the urge to reach across the table and upend the tea over her head. "You're not serious."

"I am indeed!" Suiseiseki folded her arms and beamed at her with a smug sense of satisfaction. "Those are my terms."

"Sounds more like demands to me ..." Jun muttered.

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea," Shinku cut in abruptly, drawing startled looks from everyone, especially Suigintou.

"Oh you do, do you?"

"Certainly. In fact I would very much like to assist you when the time comes."

Suigintou gaped at her. "You would?"

Jun pushed his chair back and stood. "That's it," he said, "I've had enough crazy for today thank you all very much. I'm going to drop the costumes I finished off at the drama club. I'll see you later," he stopped and glanced about for a moment, frowning as he turned back to them. "Hey, has anyone seen Barasuishou?"

* * *

Barasuishou was not in the Sakurada house; she was currently inside her own N-Field, standing before a grand theatre stage, rich red curtains concealing what lay beyond. They parted as she approached, revealing only darkness at first. A moment later a spotlight appeared, highlighting the pearly white figure of Kirakishou. She was striking a dramatic pose, a white rose clutched precariously between two fingers. She tossed it to Barasuishou, who caught it and stared at it.

"For you, my dear Barasuishou ..."

Barasuishou concentrated, and within seconds the white rose crystallized in her hands. She released it, and it shattered on the ground before her. Kirakishou chuckled.

"What's the matter, don't you like roses?"

"Give it back," Barasuishou said simply, turning her attention to the grinning seventh doll on stage. Kirakishou treated her to a look of mock confusion for a moment, a finger raised to her lips.

"Give it back? Oh, you must mean this little thing here ..." she flicked her hand and produced Barasuishou's rose eye patch out of thin air. She dangled it back and forth, grinning once more. "Come and take it if you want it."

She vanished the very same instant a mass of crystal spikes punched through the floor where she stood. Instinctively, Barasuishou flew up into the air and sailed back, avoiding the blast of white rose petals from behind. As she passed over Kirakishou, she sent a volley of crystal darts aimed at the doll's head. Kirakishou raised her hand high over her head without even looking up, summoning a glowing field of energy that deflected the attack with ease. She turned to face the Enju doll, who landed lightly on the ground behind her.

"Come now Barasuishou, you're not trying hard enough. I want to _feel_ it ..."

They both took to the air as the ground became engulfed with a mixture of white and lilac crystals jutting out at all angles. Kirakishou effortlessly dodged the crystal shards directed her way, laughing all the while. She twirled her hand, snatching her opponent out of the air with a mass of writhing rose vines. Barasuishou struggled for a brief moment, then glowed brightly, a halo of violet light surrounding her body. An instant later the vines were vaporised by the sudden release of built up energy, the explosive shockwave that resulted obliterating the crystal minefield below.

Barasuishou landed in a scorched crater on the ground and cast her gaze about. Kirakishou had vanished.

"That's more like it," the seventh doll whispered, her voice right beside Barasuishou's ear. The Enju doll tried to turn, but Kirakishou was faster. She shoved and tripped her over, pinning her to the ground in a heartbeat. Barasuishou tried to force her off, yet it was no use. Kirakishou leaned her head down close enough so that their faces were mere inches apart. Her one eye regarded the trapped doll with eager anticipation.

"Give it back," Barasuishou repeated flatly, despite her predicament.

"Why? So you can stop feeling? You have no idea how lucky you are ..." she leaned down just a little more and lightly brushed her lips against Barasuishou's, prompting the doll's eyes to widen.

"Stop ..."

"Why? Don't you want this?"

"I ... no. Stop. Give it back."

Kirakishou kissed her again, more deeply this time. She released her hold on Barasuishou's arms and pressed her hands against the side of her head, letting her fingers sink into her luxurious hair. Throughout it all, Barasuishou did nothing to stop her, did nothing at all except close her eyes. Finally the seventh doll relented and pulled back. She stroked her hand lovingly across Barasuishou's face, gazing at her with obvious longing.

"I want you. You and I are two halves of the same whole. Two sides to the same coin. We belong together. Body and soul."

"No."

"Yes. You want the trinket I took from you so you can make the pain and loss you feel go away. I can make that happen, and so much more ... just give yourself to me. Let me in, Barasuishou ..."

Barasuishou turned her head away, desperately confused and in need of answers. She couldn't cope with all these feelings. So much pain and loneliness and anguish. She wanted her father back. She wanted her sister back. Most of all, she wished that Rozen had never brought _her_ back. She didn't know what to do anymore, whereas before everything had always been so clear, so certain.

"You're not sure, are you?" Kirakishou giggled. "Very well, let's try something a little different. If you wont give yourself to me, then I shall give myself to you ..."

Barasuishou watched as the seventh Rozen Maiden faded away before her eyes, replaced with a glowing red gemstone. Kirakishou's Rosa Mystica. Before she could do anything, it sank down into her torso and vanished. She sat bolt upright, feeling the sudden intense heat that came from taking a Rosa Mystica, a feeling she'd encountered before. Several times. She felt the surge of raw emotion, of all the seventh doll's thoughts and feelings and desires, buzzing through her mind like a million web pages opening in a browser in rapid succession. And power. More power than any of the other doll's Rosa Mystica. As much power as all the rest combined. For a terrifying moment she thought that she might break apart right there, just as she'd done before when she had taken the other Rosa Mystica.

She didn't break apart though, quite the opposite. She got to her feet feeling like she was sky high. It was ... exhilarating, ecstatic. Such a rush. She felt as if she could do anything. She felt like she _wanted_ to do everything. She raised her hands to her face and felt the smoothness and warmth of it as if for the first time, and laughed as she did so. She took a step forwards but stopped as the heel of her boot brushed against something on the floor, and knelt down to pick it up.

It was her rose eye patch.

Barasuishou stared at it for a long moment. Then a grin spread across her face and she tossed the thing away. There was so much to do, and she planned on enjoying every moment of it ...


	25. EP6: The Weeping Angels

Final part of episode six, despite what I said earlier. The Weeping Angels were shamelessly taken from Doctor Who, which I am a fan of. I thought they fitted Megu's dream world well. Tune in next episode for rampant silliness!

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE 6

The Weeping Angels

* * *

Megu stared at the dolls arrayed before her bed, trying to digest the cocktail of confusing information they'd just sloshed in her direction. It was a little bewildering, to say the least.

"You want to go _into_ my dreams?" she asked, hoping for some clarification. The doll in the green dress nodded enthusiastically.

"That's right human, we're going to enter your dream world. Everyone has one. It's a sort of manifestation of your subconscious, your inner psyche. It'll help us to see where the screws are loose in that pretty head of yours so we can tighten them back up again!"

"Suiseiseki!" Her twin gaped at her in frank astonishment at her bluntness. Really though, it was something Souseiseki should expect by now. Suigintou glanced sideways at her, frowning as she did so.

"_'Pretty head'_?"

"You will not come to harm, you have our word," Shinku assured her. It was the wrong kind of reassurance, given the person in question. Megu shook her head.

"It's alright, I don't mind if it's dangerous, really."

"Hence the problem," Suigintou said with a sigh. Not wanting to waste any further time, the twins released their artificial spirits into the hospital room, and a moment later Megu fell back against her pillows, sound asleep. A swirling grey vortex opened in the air above her, beckoning to the waiting dolls. Suiseiseki stopped in front of Suigintou before entering, fixing her elder sister with her stern mismatching gaze.

"_Double_ flower topped hamburgers," she said as way of a reminder. Suigintou rolled her eyes but otherwise didn't bother to dignify the comment with an answer. Souseiseki followed her twin through the open doorway, leaving Shinku and Suigintou alone together for a moment. Suigintou was startled when something touched her hand, and even more shocked when she looked down and saw that it was Shinku, holding it in her own. She looked up and found two bright sapphire eyes watching her.

"I am here for you, Suigintou," she said gently. Suigintou was at a loss. It was ... odd. She'd been fighting Shinku for so long. Granted, things had been better between them of late, but it was still so very strange to be on such good terms with her. It wasn't something she'd been prepared for or come to expect, yet here it was. Her old instincts made her want to pull her hand away from Shinku's, but they were overridden by something else. And then, before she could even think to say something, Shinku squeezed her hand and then released it, vanishing through the doorway to Megu's dream world. Suigintou raised her hand and stared at it for a long moment.

Centuries of concentrated, obsessive hatred towards Shinku were being forced by circumstance to change into something else. The question was, what? No, actually she knew the answer to that one. The _real_ question was, what was she going to do about it?

* * *

None of them knew what to expect, but what they found was somehow worse than their best guesses. Megu's dream world was shrouded in darkness, lit only by a sprinkling of stars and a half-full moon that seemed somewhat sinister. The fact that they all found themselves standing in what appeared to be a graveyard didn't exactly help matters either.

"And I so thought the runt's world was bad," Suiseiseki muttered grimly, "Compared with this, his is practically a theme park. Brrrr! It's so cold!"

Megu glanced around at the eerie, silent graveyard, filled with glossy white marble headstones as far as the eye could see. To any normal person, such a place would send shivers down their spine, yet Megu seemed perfectly at ease. "I quite like it here," she said, "It's so peaceful."

"See here," Shinku beckoned to them, standing before one of the headstones. They gathered around her and peered at the thing, and were just able to make out the inscription on the marble. It simply bore a name: Megu Kakizaki.

"It's the same on this one," Souseiseki announced, pressing her hand against another headstone several feet away. Suigintou marched over to one near to where she was standing and saw that yes, it also had Megu's name written on it. They all did. Every single grave was marked with her name. She didn't have the faintest idea what that meant, but it couldn't be a good thing.

"Whaaaaa!" Suiseiseki cried out in alarm. They all rounded on her and found her standing several feet away, trembling like a leaf and pointing at something. It turned out to be a statue of an angel that was covering its eyes. Souseiseki sighed.

"Will you relax already? It's only a statue."

Suiseiseki hurried over to her side and clutched her shoulder, still staring at the thing as if afraid it might bite her head off. "Oh yeah? Well why wasn't it there a second ago?"

"I am sure it was, you simply failed to notice it," Shinku tried to reassure her, "After all, statues cannot move."

Suiseiseki inched a little closer to her twin, still shaking slightly. "If you say so, but I'm telling you it so wasn't there before."

"Come on, we need to find her soul tree," Souseiseki reminded them. They set off with Souseiseki in the lead, and soon found an old worn path. Here and there they found the occasional dead tree, but what was odd was that the trees they encountered seemed to have only recently died. There were still dried up leaves scattered about, and Suiseiseki confirmed that it had been quite healthy not so long ago.

"What does that mean?" Megu asked, staring up at one of the sad, gnarled looking trunks and withered branches. Souseiseki stood at her side and followed her gaze.

"Your dream world is a reflection of your soul, of your state of mind. If these trees were once healthy but have only recently died, it means something has happened to you of late to darken your heart."

Megu turned away from the dead tree, guilt etched on her face for all to see. She raised a curled hand to her chest unthinkingly, and her eyes widened as it felt the beat of her own heart. Suigintou noticed all of this, and took a step towards her, extending a hand in her direction. "Megu, are you all right?"

"I'm fine!" the girl snapped suddenly, turning away from her. It was clear to everyone that she was not fine, yet none of them said anything. Lempicka floated out of the sky and hovered in front of Souseiseki.

"What is it?" Shinku asked.

"A building. Lempicka says there is a large structure up ahead. We should probably check it out."

They set off again, though Suigintou stayed where she was for a moment, watching Megu follow her sisters along the moonlit path. What was wrong with Megu? There was something she wasn't telling them. Suigintou glanced across at the dead tree standing beside the path, and immediately noticed the angelic statue behind it. It hadn't been there before, she was sure of it. It was just like the one Suiseiseki had pointed out earlier, and it occurred to Suigintou that, with its hands covering its eyes, it almost seemed as if the statue was crying ...

* * *

"D'you think things could get _any_ spookier in this place?" Suiseiseki wondered aloud. They were all standing before a truly magnificent gothic cathedral, towering spires reaching up to the starry sky above, the moonlight reflecting off stained glass windows. There was a suitably impressive double, studded oak door at the front of the building, and Shinku spotted an inscription over it, in English, carved into a scroll-like design.

"_'Don't fear the reaper'_," she read aloud.

"Yes, that's Megu alright," Suigintou observed dryly. Suiseiseki glanced sideways at her twin, growing increasingly anxious at her surroundings.

"Do you really think we'll find her tree inside there?"

"Normally I would say no," Souseiseki admitted, "But things are far from normal here."

There was a laboured silence as they all waited to see who would volunteer to be the first to enter, and were surprised when Megu confidently strode forwards. The doors creaked loudly as she flung them open, and a gloomy chamber greeted them invitingly. Whilst everyone had their eyes front, Suiseiseki alone chanced to look behind them, and continued to do so for several long moments. She swallowed.

"Umm ... Shinku?"

"Yes?"

"You know how you said statues couldn't move?"

"What of it?"

"Well ... you were _so_ wrong."

Shinku turned around to see what she was talking about and gasped at what she witnessed behind them. The others did likewise, and were all suitably shocked. At least a dozen statues of angels were blocking the path they'd just followed, all frozen in various poses. Even though they were all as still as ... well, statues, they nevertheless radiated a palpable air of menace. Megu seemed visibly pained just looking at them, and extended a forlorn hand in their direction.

"They want me," she said, "They've come for me ..."

"Get her inside," Suigintou ordered, striding out in front of them and summoning her sword with a flick of her wrist. She grasped the hilt and held the point out threateningly towards the statues, pausing only for a split second to realise just how absurd that was. The dolls ushered Megu into the cathedral as Suigintou eyed the statues warily, waiting to see which one would make the first move. None of them so much as twitched however, and she felt increasingly stupid with each passing second.

And then she blinked.

Three of the statues were suddenly standing directly over her (they were all of human height). Their arms were outstretched as if to grab her, their hands more like claws. Their beautiful angelic faces were contorted with apparent rage, fang lined mouths wide open as if howling at her. Suigintou backed up quickly, her eyes wide. They were _fast_ when you weren't looking. The problem was they were made of stone, so her sword would be of little use, and if she wanted to run she would have to turn her back on them.

"This could be a problem ..."

* * *

"Wait Shinku!" Suiseiseki grabbed her sister's arm and held fast, preventing the fifth Rozen Maiden from heading back the way they'd come. Shinku struggled to go regardless.

"I will not leave Suigintou alone back there," she insisted, moving with such force that she actually started to drag Suiseiseki across the floor until Souseiseki joined in and held her still.

"If there's one thing I've learned," Souseiseki said calmly, "it's that Suigintou can take care of herself."

No sooner had she said this than the giant stained glass window above them shattered into dozens of shards and rained down on them like a falling rainbow. A dark blur barrelled through in their wake and landed in front of them, a cloud of black feathers joining the fragments of coloured glass. Suigintou retracted her wings and stood upright. She turned to face them, extended a hand and said: "Move."

They did so without question, just in time to avoid a storm of feathers that enveloped the doorway to the entrance, sealing it up as completely as wax in a lock. And not too soon either, for a second later they all heard something heavy hit the door with such force that cracks appeared in the stone frame around it. The dolls backed even further away.

"What are those things?" Suiseiseki wondered, her voice trembling slightly.

"I have a better question," Suigintou said as she whirled around, searching for something, "Where's Megu?"

* * *

Deeper in the cathedral was a golden altar with a cross upon it. Megu was kneeling before it, her hands clasped together, her head bowed. Looking at her, one might think she was at peace, yet nothing could be further from the truth. Though her eyes were closed, they trembled, moist tears threatening to slip through.

"Why ..." she whispered, her voice almost lost to the dark, cavernous chamber. "I prayed for death every day. All anyone ever told me was that I didn't have long left, but they were all wrong. I kept going and going, no matter how much I prayed for someone to come and take me away. And now ... now ..." she jerked her head up and flicked her eyes open, her tears hitting the altar in front of her. "Now they tell me I must live! That's just not fair! I prayed for death, was promised death, and now I can't have it! Why? Why ..." she buried her face in her hands and sobbed. No answer came, only the heavy silence of an empty cathedral.

It wasn't fair, not fair at all. Her whole life all she could do was sit and wait for death to come for her. That was all she had done. She was ready to face death. And yet here she was now, all grown up, and they expected her to just forget all of that and live a life she had no _idea_ how to live. No one had bothered to prepare her for life, because doing so had always seemed like such a waste, such a pointless endeavour. Why teach her how to live like a normal human being when she could drop dead at any moment?

"Why are the angels crying?"

Megu lowered her hands and blinked back her tears, startled by the sudden voice. It wasn't the voice of God, no, but it was the voice of an angel. Her angel. Suigintou's voice. Megu stood and turned to see her very own guardian angel marching down the aisle towards her, her strange lavender eyes fixed upon her.

"Tell me Megu," she said, "Why are the angels crying?"

"Because ... they can't take me away now."

"Take you away?"

She nodded. "They have always been here. In my dreams. Waiting to take my soul away when I died. Every night when I went to sleep, I told them, 'just a little longer', and they would wait patiently and watch over me. But now they weep for me, because now-"

"You're not dying anymore."

"That's right. Now I am not dying. Now I have to live, and all those years they waited for nothing. You shouldn't have come here Suigintou. You and your friends are different ... they will take you instead."

Suigintou reached the altar where Megu stood and looked up at her stricken Medium. Megu was vaguely aware that the other dolls were somewhere close by, watching them, but she focused only on her Suigintou.

"You're afraid," the doll said, as if finally realizing it and feeling stupid for not seeing it sooner, "You're afraid of living the same way other people are afraid of dying. You're afraid of the unknown. You don't know the first thing about life, and now you have to live one. And that scares you."

Megu nodded, feeling thoroughly wretched. She clenched her hands and sniffed, her eyes threatening to well up once more. "Dying is easy," she said, "You don't have to do anything - it just happens. Living is much harder. It's full of obstacles and problems."

"That's what makes it worth living."

Megu shook her head. "Not if you've never had to face them. I've never faced a challenge in my life. I've never had to overcome anything, never had to think for myself or solve a problem, or react to something unexpected. I wouldn't know what to do, where to start. I'm hopeless Suigintou. I'm junk. That's all I'll ever be."

Suigintou had been so focused on her Medium that it took her by complete surprise when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw an angel. She glanced around and realised that they were surrounded. The eerie statues were all about them, watching them with their blank stone eyes. Given how fast and strong they were, she ought to be pretty worried right about now. Her sisters certainly were. But oddly enough she wasn't. She understood what they were and why they were here, and knew what she needed to do to make them go away. What Megu needed to do. She turned her attention back on the girl and reached out to take her hand, just as Shinku had done to her back in the hospital.

"You are not junk," she insisted, her voice firm yet devoid of anger, "You're my Medium. More than that, you're someone I care about ..." she looked deeply into Megu's confused eyes, trying her very best to convey feelings she was completely unused to having and totally unused to expressing. "It's because of you I learned how to care. Until I met you, my life had been filled with hatred and spite. That's all I knew, all I lived for. You changed that, changed _me_. You made my life worthwhile. You're not hopeless Megu, because you gave me hope."

Megu was at a loss for words. This was more than Suigintou had ever said to her before, and it was by far the kindest words she'd ever heard the doll speak. All she could manage to say was her name, yet she said it with such compassion that Suigintou found the strength to go on.

"Suigintou ..."

"I _want_ you to live, Megu. I ... I need you. You say that you don't have the first idea how to live, well ... neither did I at first. But I had someone to teach me, someone who showed me kindness when no one else would. So ... I'll teach you."

The angels were all around them now. They were ignoring the other Rozen Maiden and had instead formed a tight ring around Megu and Suigintou. Their angry posture had reverted back to weeping, to sadness, their hands pressed to their faces to stem the supposed flood of tears. And there _were_ tears now, Suigintou could see them. Of all the things, wet tears were rolling down stone cheeks and splashing onto the ground of the cathedral. Suigintou did her best to ignore them. She gripped Megu's hand tight and pulled it close, brushing her fingers over the rose ring the girl wore on her finger. She stared at it for a long moment before smiling up at the astonished girl.

"Not so long ago, I saw a human boy get down on one knee and swear to serve and protect my sister with his life ..." she said. As if mesmerised, Megu got down on one knee before Suigintou. She almost chuckled at that. "He made her so happy doing that ... so much happier than I'd ever made her. I'd like to make you that happy Megu. So here, in front of all these witnesses," she gestured to indicate the angels, "I swear to protect you. To teach you whatever I can, to help you and to stay by your side."

"Until death do us part," Megu added, a smile creeping onto her face. Now Suigintou did chuckle.

"Until death do us part."

She blinked, and saw that the angels were gone. All of them. There was not a statue in sight. There were three dolls however, standing half a dozen feet away down the aisle. Suiseiseki jumped up and waved her arm in the air, cheering.

"Wooo! You may now kiss the bride!"

"Which one's that?" Souseiseki asked. Suigintou was about to snap off a cutting remark, but any such thoughts vanished from her mind as Megu wrapped her arms around her and pulled her close in an embrace. And she felt herself _blushing_ again, right in front of her sisters. Yet, looking at Shinku's smiling face, she found that she didn't seem to mind so much. Suiseiseki dusted her hands off with a look of smug satisfaction.

"I think our work here is done," she said. Souseiseki frowned.

"We didn't actually do anything though ..."

"Shhhh!" Suiseiseki raised a finger to her lips in an effort to silence her sister. "Keep quiet and me might still get dinner out of this!"

Shinku left the twins bickering and marched up to the altar, stopping before Suigintou and her Medium with an expression of such happiness and wonder on her face that Suigintou never imagined she'd have such a look directed at her. "Suigintou, truly you are not the person you once were, and I am sorry for all the hurt I caused you in the past. I am proud to call you my sister. I only hope you can say the same of me."

Suigintou stared at her in mute shock. Suiseiseki could have plucked the feathers from her back right there and then and she wouldn't even notice. A year ago, if someone had told her Shinku would say those very words to her, she would have scoffed at them and told them they obviously didn't know Shinku very well. She smirked and put a hand casually on her hip.

"We'll see Shinku. If you can survive my cooking then I just might ..."

Suiseiseki snorted. "It can't be any worse than Shinku's!"

Shinku rounded on the Gardener, her face suddenly livid. "What was that?" she strutted over to her sister, who backed away hastily in the face of her crimson rage, "How dare you insult my cooking in such a manner. I try my best, and is that not what matters most?"

"Why don't you ask Kanaria," said Souseiseki, "she's so scarred from eating those cookies you made that she can't even look at one now without having to down a glass of water ..."

Megu chuckled as she watched the dolls squabbling, and Suigintou noticed the first rays of a new dawn shining through the cathedral windows, heralding a pronounced change in the girl's heart. And then the enormity of what she'd just done hit her. She'd given up playing the Alice game, and now she'd pledged to take care of a human who wasn't even her father. It was ... unthinkable. And perhaps the strangest thing of all was ... she didn't even mind. It all felt right somehow. As she watched Shinku scolding Souseiseki, she clasped her hands together and spoke inside her own mind, yet her words were directed outwards.

Forgive me father, but ... this is what I have to do now. This is who I am. I'm sorry. If this means I'm not worthy of becoming Alice after all, then so be it. I love you father, but ... I love them as well.

* * *

Hina: Oh! Oh! Suigintou's making dinner!

Jun: That's it, we're all dead.

Nori: Oh Jun-kun ...

Jun: Nori, what the heck are you doing? Ahhh! Stay back!

Barasuishou: Life is so much more fun when you don't hold back ...

Suigintou: Shinku is mine, you hear? She blongs to me, not you!

Jun: Not you too! Has everyone in this house gone insane?

Souseiseki: We're all mad here.

Shinku: Next time, on Rozen Maiden: Märchen,

Nori: The light of truth eludes us. And so does my Jun-kun!


	26. EP7: Flower Topped Surprise

Episode seven! Warning: This chapter contains incest. In fact all chapters for this episode probably will as well. And maybe some twincest later on. And yuri. If you don't like any of that stuff then just don't read this episode. Simple!

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE SEVEN

Flower Topped Surprise

* * *

The first indication that it was going to be a bad day came when the doorbell rang and Jun went to answer it. No sooner had he turned the handle did the door fly into his face and send him sprawling onto his back sporting a very sore nose. Through the haze of pain and tears he managed to fix his blurry vision upon the sight of a doll case floating above him. It opened and Suigintou smiled cheerfully down at him, evidently in a good mood.

"Hello Jun, I thought I'd come in the traditional way this time; through the front door."

Jun staggered to his feet and adjusted his glasses, scowling at the doll as he struggled to resist the overwhelming urge to grab her and shake some of his anger off on her. "It's traditional to wait for the door to open first," he snapped.

"Oh come now, don't look so glum. I came all this way to treat you to some of my wonderful culinary delights, you should be overjoyed. By the way, where's Shinku?"

Jun shut the front door and stalked past her as he made for the living room. "This way."

Shinku was indeed in the living room, drinking some tea that Jun had recently prepared for her. It was his third batch, the previous two attempts being so atrociously made that Shinku had actually slapped him with her hair and declared that he was 'slipping'. Yes, it really was not shaping up to be a good day at all.

"Oh my, if it isn't the blushing newlywed!" Suiseiseki sniggered as Jun and Suigintou entered the room. "How's Megu adjusting to married life?"

Suigintou decided that the best way to deal with the most annoying of the Rozen Maidens was to completely ignore her. She lowered her case and hopped out, before taking a hold of the handle and swinging it around into Jun's shin. He cried out in pain and clutched at his thoroughly abused limb, whereupon Suigintou dropped her case onto his toes. The result was as impressive as it was eye watering to see.

"Take my case and put it with the rest," she commanded as if she owned him, "Quickly now, you're making the place look untidy. And stop shouting, it's distracting."

"AARRRGHH! STOP HITTING ME! And stop bossing me around, this is MY house you rotten evil doll!"

Suigintou simply ignored him and strode past a stunned looking Suiseiseki, who was gazing in admiration at her handiwork. Suigintou had only been in the house for about thirty seconds and already she had Jun up to ear-splitting decibels. It was almost impressive.

"Suigintou is correct Jun, kindly stop shouting. You are disturbing the entire household," said Shinku, hopping off her chair. Jun picked up Suigintou's case and contemplated hurling it at one of them, but he couldn't make up his mind which. He ground his teeth in frustration instead.

"To hell with you then! I'm going up to my room; the first person who bothers me _will_ regret it!" and with that he stormed off, grumbling and muttering profusely under his breath. They all watched him go and Suigintou rolled her eyes.

"Thank goodness, I thought he would never leave. Honestly Shinku, sometimes I wonder what you see in that boy."

Suiseiseki held her hands out in a sort of half shrug and chuckled. "Oh, he's not so bad really. And he _does_ look good in a dress."

Suigintou stared at her for a moment before shooting Shinku a questioning look. Shinku decided to avoid the matter altogether and instead asked her big sister how her Medium was fairing. Suigintou sighed and rubbed her eyes, indicating that she'd had a few sleepless nights. "She's doing well," she admitted, "She just moved back in with her parents. Which means that sooner or later I'm going to have to move my case into her room."

"Is that not a good thing?" Shinku asked. Suigintou shrugged and strolled over to examine one of the floorboards, which contained a bright crayon drawing of a butterfly, courtesy of Hinaichigo.

"Oh! You're here then!"

That was Nori, who'd entered the living room clutching several shopping bags. Suigintou watched as the girl waved and set the bags down on the kitchen table. She smiled brightly at them. "Jun told me you were coming over to make dinner for everyone today, so I went out and made sure we had enough things in for you."

"Why, thank you," Suigintou said sincerely, provoking an astonished look from Suiseiseki. The Gardener frowned and rubbed the back of her head, as if something had struck her there.

"Geez, I am so not used to you being nice. Well I guess it's okay, just so long as you stick with it."

Suigintou walked over to her and leaned close, so that their faces were mere inches apart. Suiseiseki leaned back a little, feeling distinctly nervous at being so near to her normally aggressive big sister, prompting a smirk from Suigintou.

"I'll do my best ..."

* * *

They had to bring out a second table just to provide enough seating for everyone. Tomoe arrived not long after Suigintou, bringing Hinaichigo with her, and Kanaria showed up by herself ten minutes after that, insistent that she wasn't going to be left out this time. It would be a crowded dinner.

Barasuishou was not hiding in her case anymore, and was instead acting in a very strange manner. She'd started off by following Suiseiseki around and mimicking her every word and gesture, which annoyed Suiseiseki no end. Then when Souseiseki came back from visiting grandfather, the Enju doll had run up to her and swiped her hat. She'd put it on herself, twirled around and giggled a lot, before returning it without a word. Souseiseki was too dumbfounded to even complain. Currently she was standing on the coffee table, playing Kanaria's violin. Well, as it happened. Kanaria herself was sitting on the couch and clapping whenever Barasuishou finished a piece.

"I can't believe you live with her," Suigintou remarked as Barasuishou took a bow to applause from Kanaria. Shinku glanced over at the two dolls, frowning.

"It was at father's request."

Suigintou scowled and returned to stirring the hamburger mixture together. She was wearing an apron, which Shinku had told her looked quite fetching on her. "She's not a Rozen Maiden. How could father bring her back after what she did to us?"

"I do not know," Shinku admitted, "Perhaps he wished to give her a chance to redeem herself. She has certainly assisted us of late whenever the opportunity has arisen."

There was a loud crash from the lobby, followed by much shouting. Suigintou and Shinku put aside what they were doing to go and have a peek and, curiosity getting the better of her, Kanaria joined them. This left Barasuishou alone in the room, just as she'd hoped. She carefully set the violin down and hurried over to the where dinner was being prepared, the hamburger mixture lying unattended for the moment.

"Let us make this a meal to remember ..."

Barasuishou made a complex gesture with her hand and conjured up a white rose. She then plucked a handful of petals from the flower and crushed them up in her palm, before gently sprinkling them into the burger mix. Grinning like a maniac, she stirred the mixture a few times until her little addition vanished, giggling as she did so.

"Flower topped indeed ..."

* * *

It was a fantastic meal, everyone said so. Even Nori admitted that it was the best flower topped hamburger she'd ever tasted, and the dessert simply melted in the mouth. Suigintou seemed genuinely astonished at the success of her efforts, and did not think she had it in her. It had been a very long time since she'd actually prepared food after all.

Barasuishou continued her trend of acting weird and volunteered to clean up and do the dishes. Souseiseki offered to help, and the Enju doll accepted her offer - on the condition that she got to wear Souseiseki's hat again. Jun pointed out that the hat didn't really suit her, but she insisted. She was in a very strange mood, but since she seemed relatively happy they all let it slide without comment.

Jun finished off his homework with a little help from Tomoe and then decided to spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing on the computer. Or rather, trying his very best to enact damage control over Suiseiseki's last post on his blog. To his annoyance, people were leaving comments asking for her to post again. There was no _way_ that was going to happen, not while he was alive.

Shinku showed up, carrying a tea tray of all things. She set it down on the floor and called out to him.

"What is it?"

"I thought you would like some tea," she said, carefully pouring him a cup, "I made it myself."

Jun gaped at her as if she'd just casually announced that aliens had invaded the planet. He had to replay the words in his head a few times just to make sure he understood correctly. "_You_ made it? _You?_ For real?"

"Yes. Why, shouldn't I have?"

"But ... but ... Shinku, you _never_ make the tea. Are you feeling okay?"

Shinku finished pouring the tea and looked up at him with an earnest smile. "I am fine, thank you for asking ... Jun-kun."

Jun almost fell out of his chair. He carefully sat down in front of the doll, watching her with a deeply worried expression on his face. Something was very ... odd about her. She took a sip of her tea and tilted her head, still smiling. As it was, she'd just used up her quota for smiling for the day in the space of about ten seconds. She was well into overtime now.

"You seem surprised," she said.

"Yeah, you could say that."

"Well Jun, you are my Master after all. It is only fitting that I make you tea."

Jun's heart skipped a beat, possibly two. Master? _Master?_ "What did you just call me?"

Shinku set her tea down and clasped her hands together in her lap. She smiled at him almost bashfully, as if she were a schoolgirl on her first date. "Master. You _are_ my Master, Jun-kun, and I am your doll. I am yours to command. If there's _anything_ I can do for you, please don't hesitate to ask ..."

Jun peered at her closely and gave an experimental sniff of the air. "Shinku, are you drunk?"

Shinku leaned forwards and whispered to him. "Only on you ..."

Jun was saved from heart failure when his bedroom door opened and his sister poked her head in. He scrambled to his feet as she gestured to him. "Nori! Oh thank ... what is it?" He edged around Shinku, casting her a worried glance. She may not be drunk, but there was something very wrong with her, that much was obvious.

"Jun, could you come with me for a second? I need to show you something," Nori said, sounding as worried as he felt. He groaned. What now? Was one of the other dolls acting weird as well? He dreaded to think what else was going on. If it could make Shinku act like that, it had to be pretty serious.

"But Jun, your tea will get cold," Shinku called after him on his way out the door.

"I'll be right back!" He shouted back at her, following his sister across the hall to her own bedroom. She ushered him into the room and he cast his gaze about, searching for some sign of doll-related trouble. It took him a few seconds to realise that there was no one there and everything seemed perfectly normal. At least, right up until Nori shut the door and locked it. Jun spun to face her, and noted with some concern that she had a very strange look in her eyes.

"Uh, Nori, what's going on?"

Nori leaned against the door, smiling impishly at him. "Oh, nothing much Jun-kun. Just you and me, alone together ..."

He really didn't like the sound of that _at all_. Not one bit. He backed up a step and swallowed. "You said you had something to show me?"

It was a stupid question and he should have known better than to ask it under the bizarre circumstances, but it was too late. Nori reached down and pulled her sweater up, treating Jun to an unhindered view of her chest. Horrified, he flung his arm over his face to cover his eyes and turned away, blushing furiously. "NORI! What the hell are you doing?"

Before he knew it she was standing right behind him. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close, and he felt her breath against the back of his neck. He very nearly screamed at that point.

"Oh Jun-kun, you don't know how long I've waited for this ..." she moaned. _Moaned._ Dear god, he did not need to hear that! He tried to pull himself away, but Nori only tightened her grip on him. Worse, she started to let her hands wander. Jun almost gagged.

"This is crazy, let go of me! What the heck is the matter with you? Have you gone insane or something?"

He continued to struggle and for a bright shining moment he actually felt Nori's hold lessen. Unfortunately she'd simply let go of him, and since he was trying to force himself away from her this resulted in him falling flat on his face. Onto her bed, as it happened. Goodbye Bad, hello Worse. He then made the awful mistake of turning over, instead of, say, scrambling away as fast as he possibly could, and a split second later was treated to the mind-numbing sensation of having his sister on top of him. Not even in his worst nightmares did he ever imagine a situation like this.

"I've dreamt about this ever since I can remember," Nori told him, a look of hunger on her face. The kind of look a diabetic has while staring at a large chocolate covered chocolate cake. Jun couldn't move, he was paralysed with horror.

"Okay Nori, I really hope you're not saying what I think you're saying," he murmured fervently, "Because you know I'm your brother right? _Your brother._ I'm family. You do know that right?"

Any hopes he might have had of talking some sense into her disappeared completely as his words only seemed to drive her onwards, making her even more eager if that were possible. "I know that Jun, I really do," she said, "That's why I've never done anything like this before. It's wrong. You're my brother and I shouldn't be having thoughts like these about you. But I just can't help myself anymore. I can't take it. I want you to be my first Jun-kun, and I want to be yours ..."

What the hell do you say to that? Seriously, what the hell is anyone supposed to say to that, besides a rather obvious 'No!'. But she didn't look like she would take no for an answer. So Jun went to the next most obvious solution under the circumstances: he screamed for help. He didn't get very far though, as Nori clamped a hand over his mouth and raised a finger to her own.

"Shhhh! Be quiet now, and I promise you'll enjoy this."

"No I wont! I really _really_ wont!" Jun insisted the second she removed her hand. "Please Nori, think about this. This isn't you - something's making you act this way. Shinku was acting weird as well."

Nori pouted, actually pouted at him. "Shinku. It's always Shinku with you, isn't it? Why can't you give some love to your big sis? I mean a girl has needs, you know?"

"That does it!" Jun, finally finding strength in his limbs, forced his sister off. He shoved her back and then rolled across the bed like caffeine-high ninja, landing lightly on his feet on the side opposite her. This put the bed between them, a nice buffer. Well ... _a_ buffer at any rate. Nori for her part pouted some more.

"Please Jun-kun! I want my first time to be with you! I want to give you my virginity!"

"Keep it!" Jun yelled back at her, "I have my own!" The window? Could he maybe dive out of the window and survive? Sure he might break an ankle or even a leg, but considering the alternatives ...

Nori jumped up onto the bed and threw herself at him. With reflexes he didn't even know he had, Jun managed to dodge out of the way, resulting in his sister falling flat on her face. Jun didn't hold out any hope that this would knock some sense into her, and immediately ran for the door. He struggled with the handle for several seconds in a blind panic, and only then realized that she'd locked the damn thing. Just as he managed to unlock it Nori grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around. She pushed him up against the door and leaned forwards to kiss him square on the lips. By an amazing stroke of luck Jun managed to turn the door handle, and their combined weight leaning against it caused it to fly open and drop the pair on the floor outside.

Shinku stared at them.

"I see," she said with such coldness that frost almost formed on Jun's glasses, "So that is how it is then."

Aghast, Jun flailed his arm out in her direction, his other arm pinned by his sister, who was lying on top of him again and showing every sign of enjoying her predicament. "Wait, Shinku! This isn't what it looks like!"

"Yes it is what it looks like!" Nori declared very unhelpfully. Shinku kicked Jun in the side of the head before turning and marching off. As if he didn't have enough problems, Nori was still trying to kiss him, and now his head hurt like hell. This was quite possibly the worst day of his entire life. By some miracle though he managed to get Nori off. He leapt to his feet and ran for it, rebounding off the nearest wall first because Shinku's kick had left him slightly disoriented.

Somehow he made it to his room without Nori getting her hands on him, though he heard her wailing in the hallway. He slammed his door shut, locked it and backed away, struggling to make some sense out of what had just happened. One thing was for sure, he was going to need so much therapy after this ...

As he was backing away from the door, he bumped into something. He jumped with fright and spun around to see Tomoe standing behind him. She smiled.

"Hello Jun."


	27. EP7: Sanity's Requiem

Thanks for the praise last chapter, but I didn't think it was that good. Neither is this chapter. Writing crazy, funny OOC bits is pretty damn hard, and if I actually wore a hat I would take it off for cherryblossomroses for doing it so well. If anyone deserves to be Queen of Rozen Maiden OOC it's you! Really, this pales in comparison to some of your wackiness. Next chapter will probably focus on the twins and Suigintou.

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE SEVEN

Sanity's Requiem

* * *

It had already been established by now that Jun was having a bad day. Being physically abused by Suigintou was only the start, and paled in comparison to his sister taking a sudden intimate interest in him. A kick in the head from Shinku also did wonders for his sunny disposition. But now he found himself locked in a room with Tomoe, and given the behaviour of people around him this particular afternoon that fact did little to calm his already frayed nerves.

"Hello Jun."

Jun flinched and shrank back from her, as if she'd just come screaming at him with a knife. He held his hands up defensively, acutely aware that his back was to the door and no power in the universe would compel him to open it. Not whilst his sister was out there, eager to deprive him of his innocence. Such as it was. Tomoe seemed puzzled by his behaviour.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Please, Tomoe, whatever you're feeling right now, fight it," he pleaded, expecting at any moment that she would hurl herself at him. He couldn't be more wrong, as it turned out. She simply stared at him as if he'd been drinking too much.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Did something happen? I heard a commotion just now."

Jun lowered his hands a fraction and watched her closely. She seemed normal. At least normal for Tomoe at any rate. Maybe whatever it was hadn't affected her? He lowered his hands completely and frowned. "Are you feeling okay? You don't have any sudden ... umm, urges?"

"Urges? Jun, you're really not making any sense."

Jun sagged and let out a sigh of relief. Whatever it was that had gotten to Shinku and Nori, it obviously hadn't reached Tomoe. Whatever _it_ was. No idea on that yet. At least he was safe for the moment.

To be honest, he'd always known that Nori had something of a weird complex about her little brother, and she certainly had the type of mind to jump at the most perverse thoughts in any situation. But to come at him like that ... it really was like she was drunk. Yet she seemed otherwise coordinated and articulate, and there was no alcohol on her breath. He'd certainly been close enough to tell. So what then?

"I just came up here to have a word with you about something," Tomoe continued when he'd been silent for several seconds, "That Miss Micchan lady told me that the layout we did together for the fashion shoot was really popular. Even though we were only standing in for someone else, her boss asked her to try and get us back to do more. I quite enjoyed it so I told her I wouldn't mind, and she asked me to try and convince you. I told her you probably wouldn't be interested-"

"I'll do it," Jun blurted out suddenly, surprising Tomoe. And himself for that matter. Inside his head he went _What?_

"Oh. Really? I know you had fun too Jun, but I thought you were embarrassed by the whole thing. Are you sure?"

Jun found himself nodding, even though he had no intention of doing so. And he spoke again, words that he didn't plan on saying but said anyway. "Yeah, I'd love to do it again. I had a lot of fun the last time and I actually like dressing up as a girl." Inside his head he was screaming at himself. _What the hell did I just say? I didn't want to say that! Why would I say that? I can't believe I just said that!_

Tomoe blinked with surprise, evidently as taken back by his words as Jun himself was. Then she smiled a little. "Really? I ... didn't know that. It's good to hear, I thought you were very cute when you did it. I think it suited you."

"You did? Huh." Jun paced back and forth, thinking the matter over seriously. "Maybe I should come up with a name for myself then, for when I do it. I could still use Sakurada, because we told everyone at school that it was my cousin. Ha! Yeah, I could even go out dressed up, and if anyone thinks they recognise me I can just tell them I'm Jun's cousin. They wouldn't even know it was me. I bet I could even get into designing the stuff with Mitsu's help. She's always asking me for ideas and inspiration ..." Jun stopped and clasped his hands together, gazing into the future with a dreamy sparkle in his eyes. "Ohhh, I bet it would be so much _fun!_"

Tomoe raised a hand to her mouth and let out a gentle laugh. "Wow Jun, I had no idea you felt that way. It's really surprising. I think it's great that you're like that."

Jun was fairly sure his brain had just frozen over. It certainly felt like it. He had gone past the stage of internally screaming at himself and now the part of his mind that was watching himself was rocking back and forth in a blizzard, shivering and muttering things like _Not happening, this is not happening ..._

"So what was all that noise just now? I thought I heard Shinku, and she sounded upset."

On the plus side this snapped Jun out of his insanity induced behaviour, but on the downside it reminded him of recent events regarding his sister and the reason for the nice bruise on the side of his head. He blinked and turned to regard the locked door, his mouth hanging open. "That ... you wouldn't believe me if I told you. Something's wrong with Nori," _and me!_ "She's out of her mind. She tried to ..."

"Tried to what?" Tomoe prompted when he left the sentence hanging. Jun swallowed nervously, not sure how to word it exactly.

"Err ..." He blushed, although why the thought of explaining Nori's behaviour caused him to do so and admitting that he wanted to be a cross-dressing fashion designer _didn't_ was a mystery to him. Not that he did! That was just the crazy talking. "Umm, maybe you should go see for yourself. Try and calm her down a little, or failing that you could tie her up. That might be for the best, actually ..."

* * *

"Okay, are you ready?"

"Ready!"

"No peeking ..."

"Hina doesn't peek! Now stop dawdling and put it in Hina's mouth already!"

Kanaria steered the spoonful of tinned peach into Hinaichigo's waiting maw. The little blonde doll chomped down on it and swallowed as Kanaria watched her closely.

"Well?"

"Peach! It must be peach, Hina's sure."

Kanaria gaped and set the spoon down, impressed. "Wow, you're really good at this game, y'know? That's five in a row you guessed right. Not too shabby."

Hina laughed and pulled her blindfold off, waving her feet happily as she did so. She held the blindfold out towards Kanaria. "Your turn now Kanimisa!"

"Hey, it's Kanaria! KA-NAH-REE-AH!"

Hinaichigo put a hand to her mouth and chuckled. "I know, Hina was just playing with you."

"Hmph."

"Will you two keep it down?" Suigintou snapped, her mood gloomy. She turned her attention back to the chess game she was watching. Souseiseki and Barasuishou were sitting on the floor together, the board between them. It was their third match and they had each won a game so far. This was the deciding round. Barasuishou was doing very well.

"It is the hat," she explained, removing Souseiseki's hat from her head and holding it out for inspection, "This is a magic hat that increases the intelligence of whomever wears it."

"Oh, that's so nonsense!" Suiseiseki protested. She snatched the hat from Barasuishou and placed it on her own head, before extending her hands in a 'See?' gesture. "Nope, not smart."

Barasuishou grinned. "Correct, you are not smart at all. I on the other hand ..." she turned to Souseiseki and held a waiting hand out towards her. The Gardener doll groaned and placed a chocolate bar she had in her palm while Suiseiseki watched.

"W-what was that for?"

Suigintou sighed, her chin resting in her hands. "She bet Souseiseki she could get you to wear the hat before they finished their game. You really are a dummy, Suiseiseki."

Barasuishou took a bite of her newly acquired chocolate while Suiseiseki shook with anger and struggled to think up a suitable insult to hurl. She opted to hurl the chessboard instead, scattering the pieces across the living room floor. Souseiseki groaned again. She closed her eyes and extended a hand towards her twin, not even looking at her.

"Can I have my hat back now?"

As they set the chess board back up, Suigintou began to pace back and forth, growing increasingly frustrated. As the only other unoccupied doll in the room, Suiseiseki was the only one to notice that something was bugging her.

"What's eating you?"

Suigintou stopped pacing and rounded on her, her hands clenched tight. She seemed to be extremely annoyed by something. "Where's Shinku?" she demanded. Suiseiseki stared at her.

"Is that all that's bothering you?"

"_All?_ This is the first time I've bothered to pay her a social call and she doesn't even give me the time of day. Where is she?"

Suiseiseki hopped up into a chair and shrugged. "She's upstairs with lover boy, of course."

Suigintou balked. "_Lover boy?_"

"That useless runt, who else? She made him some tea about ten minutes ago and took it up to his room. Honestly, those two are worse than ever now that they've admitted their gooey mushy feelings for each other," she scoffed and folded her arms, "I mean really, when we had all that trouble with Kohaku, Shinku was so going to sleep in the puny runt's bed! With him in it no less!"

Suigintou gasped with shock, as if she'd just been slapped. She stared at Suiseiseki with a pained look in her eyes, desperately hoping that she'd misheard. "What?"

"It's true. They're probably up there right now, making eyes at each other. I so wouldn't be surprised if they were smooching and doing other yucky lovey dovey stuff too. Suigintou?" She blinked and peered over the side of the chair, wondering where her big sister had vanished to.

* * *

Tomoe found Nori just outside her room, kneeling on the floor and probing the area around herself as if searching for something. She'd lost her glasses in the scuffle with Jun a few minutes ago and was fruitlessly trying to locate them, despite being almost blind without them. They were right behind her, too. Tomoe strolled over and knelt down to retrieve them.

"Jun, is that you?" Nori rounded on Tomoe. Without her glasses all she could see was a blurry silhouette. She was nevertheless convinced it was her little brother and let out a squeal of delight. "Oh Jun-kun, you came back!"

Tomoe held up Nori's glasses and was about to explain, but Nori didn't give her a chance. She lunged forwards and embraced Tomoe, mistakenly believing her to be Jun. She pressed her lips against Tomoe's before Tomoe could even utter a word, and by then Tomoe was too shocked to do much of anything. After a long few seconds Nori pulled back and smacked her lips together with glee, a faint blush on her cheeks.

"Oh Jun-kun, your lips are so soft ... that was the best first kiss I could possibly hope for ..."

Tomoe sat there still clutching Nori's glasses, her face bright red, her eyes glazed over as she replayed what had just happened in her mind. Then without any warning she reached a decision and kissed Nori herself, cupping Nori's face with her hands and pouring as much passion and intensity into the kiss as possible. And of course Nori still believed her to be Jun, and so kissed her back. It went on for some time, and eventually the two girls slipped sideways onto the floor and began ... well _groping_ seems like such a crude word, but it was certainly accurate. It also led Nori to realise something when her hands strayed to Tomoe's chest.

"Umm, Jun-kun ... since when did you grow _those?_"

"I'm sorry, I'm not Jun," Tomoe admitted, more than a little flustered. She pressed Nori's glasses into her hands and, sitting upright Nori hastily put them on. She gasped as she realised just _who_ she had been kissing and pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle a scream as Tomoe sat up beside her.

"Tomoe! But ... but ... why did you _kiss_ me?"

"Well you kissed me first," Tomoe pointed out.

"Yeah, but that was because I thought you were Jun!" Nori said, exasperated. Tomoe blinked at her.

"... I have no idea what to say to that," she confessed.

Nori grabbed the sides of her face in a panic, her expression distraught. "Oh no, I can't believe I gave my first kiss to a girl!"

Tomoe frowned. "You say that as if it's a bad thing."

Nori wailed. "It is! I was saving it for Jun-kun ... well at least I can still give myself to him. It might take some convincing, but that's only because he's so shy ..."

"Wait, we are talking about the same Jun here? Jun Sakurada? Your brother?" Tomoe asked, just to clarify the situation. She was starting to understand Jun's panicked behaviour a little now. Nori clasped her hands together and nodded, a dreamy, wistful expression on her face.

"Yes," she said breathlessly, "My pure, kind-hearted sweet little Jun-kun. I want my first time to be with him and no one else. Don't you feel the same way Tomoe?"

Tomoe shook her head slowly from side to side. "I can't say that I do, no. He's not really my type, and to be honest I'm a little shocked to know he's yours."

Nori blinked and suddenly fixed her attention on Tomoe, who was starting to edge away. Not nearly fast enough as it happened, as Nori reached out and grabbed her hand. "Wait, Tomoe, you could convince him! I know deep down he really wants to, he just needs a little nudge, that's all."

Tomoe gasped and pulled away from her, getting to her feet. "I ... really don't think that's such a good idea. Maybe you should have a lie down until you're feeling better?"

Nori got to her feet as well, her expression darkening with sudden jealousy. She pointed accusingly at Tomoe, her finger shaking. "You! You want Jun for yourself!"

Tomoe backed away, eyes wide, palms held up defensively. "I don't! I told you, he's not my type-"

"Liar! I know you gave him chocolates on Valentines Day! You want to take him away from me, you want him all to yourself! Admit it Tomoe, you want Jun don't you!"

Tomoe stopped backing away and her demeanour changed to one of irritation. She leaned forwards, her hands clenched tight at her sides. "That's ridiculous, if I wanted Jun then why would I kiss you? I prefer girls!"

"Oh!" Nori's eyes glinted with sudden understanding. She scowled at Tomoe, her hands on her hips. "So that explains it then!"

"Explains what?"

"Why you talked Jun into dressing up as a girl for that fashion shoot! You want to turn him into a girl so he _will_ be your type!"

"What?" Tomoe leaned back, startled by Nori's claim. "That isn't ... that's not ... that's true!" She clapped her hands over her mouth as if she could take the words back, shocked that she would even say them in the first place. Nori jabbed a triumphant finger at her, almost hopping on the spot.

"You admit it! I knew it! Well you can just forget about it Missy, because Jun is mine you hear!"

* * *

Five minutes later they were both sitting in the living room clutching ice-packs to their heads. Tomoe had a bruise on her cheek whilst Nori's glasses lay in broken fragments on the table. Hinaichigo hurried up to Tomoe and held out a fresh ice pack for her.

"Are you gonna be okay, Tomoe?" she asked, her voice laced with concern. Tomoe nodded and took the pack from her, wincing as she did so.

"I'll be fine Hina," she said. She glanced over to Nori and smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry I broke your glasses."

"That's okay Tomoe, I'm sure Shinku can fix them," Nori admitted, smiling a little as well to cover her intense embarrassment. "I'm sorry I hit you so hard."

Suiseiseki and Souseiseki exchanged looks, both wondering what could have caused such a clash between the two. Barasuishou meanwhile sat perched atop the couch, smirking at the whole situation. It had only been an hour since dinner, and already things were getting interesting. She honestly didn't expect it to take effect so quickly.

Really though, the fun was just beginning ...


	28. EP7: A Mad House

Mwuhahahaha, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. I may have got a little carried away ... well I hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE SEVEN

A Mad House

* * *

Jun sat slumped at his computer, struggling to figure out just what the hell was going on. There was no question now that something was affecting them all. First Shinku had made him _tea_ and acted all sweet and nice towards him. Then Nori ... just ... Nori. His nightmares were going to be several shades more colourful from now on. And of course himself. What the hell had he been thinking when he'd blurted out to Tomoe all those things? It was as if some part of his brain responsible for keeping his behaviour in check had just shut down.

"Come to think of it, everything was fine until dinner ..." he pondered aloud. His eyes narrowed as a name cropped up that could easily account for all this trouble. Suigintou. She had made them a special dinner, and ever since then they'd all started behaving weirdly. It had to be her. Suigintou had put something in the dinner that was screwing with their minds and making them say and do crazy stuff. It was the only logical explanation. Jun raised a clenched fist and shook it in anger. "Suigintou ..."

There's a saying that goes 'Speak of the devil and he shall appear'. Ironically then, Suigintou appeared the moment Jun spoke her name, almost as if he'd summoned her. The screen of his computer blanked out momentarily and then the first Rozen Maiden appeared on it, as if video linking to it. He blinked in astonishment and lowered his fist.

"Huh?"

"There you are," Suigintou spoke, her voice coming out of the speakers. Jun saw her reach towards the screen and almost screamed when her hands came _through _the glass and grabbed the collar of his shirt. Her head and shoulders followed in short order, and within seconds Jun found himself face to face with a furious looking doll. Before he could even think to utter a word Suigintou yanked him out of his chair and _pulled_ him into the screen. Everything went dark.

The next thing he knew he was falling, and then he hit the cold hard ground quite painfully. He rubbed a fresh bruise on the side of his head that went nicely alongside the one Shinku had given him, and sat up, cursing Suigintou profusely. Glancing around Jun saw that he was inside her N-Field, sitting in a dark and desolate street surrounded by silent ruined buildings. He got to his feet and winced at the sharp pain in the side of his head.

"Alright, what the hell Suigintou?"

"How appropriate that you should mention hell," he heard her voice echo from some unknown location, "Because that's precisely where you are now."

"Stop screwing around and take me back right now!"

"I'm sorry Jun, I'm afraid I can't do that ..."

Suigintou floated down out of the air to land atop the roof of a building opposite Jun. She glared at him with those creepy pink eyes of hers, and if he didn't know better Jun would have sworn this was the Suigintou of old. The one that had kidnapped Hinaichigo and dragged her to this place as bait to lure Shinku into a fight. He shivered, as much from that look as from the cold.

"What's going on?" he asked, "What do you want?"

"What do I want?" Suigintou mockingly pretended to consider his question seriously, before returning her malicious glaring eyes on him. "I want Shinku and you, human, are in the way. There's only one thing for it," She summoned her sword and brandished it towards him, a wicked smile on her cold face, "I simply have to kill you."

Jun's eyes went wide. She couldn't be serious? "K-kill me? Why? I haven't done anything to you!"

Suigintou slashed her sword through the air with such ferocity that Jun _heard_ the blade humming. She snarled at him. "Oh you haven't, have you? Well then let me tell you since you're so obviously clueless - Shinku has fallen in love with you, and that is unacceptable. She is mine and mine alone. Only _I_ am worthy of her love. I will not allow you to defile her."

It struck Jun then that he'd got it all wrong before. It wasn't Suigintou that had put something in the dinner, because whatever had affected Nori and the others was obviously affecting her as well. It didn't seem likely that she'd play the same trick on herself. Of course that didn't change the fact that she was now nuts, wanted him dead, and happened to be armed. This was a bad combination of factors. Amazingly, his day had just got worse.

"Defile her?" He backed away a few steps, wondering briefly what his chances would be if he made a run for it. "What are you talking about? I've never laid a finger on her!"

He cried out as a row of black feathers buried themselves in the ground an inch away from his feet. Suigintou lowered her hand and barred her teeth at him. "Good, then that means I've chosen to act just in time. I suggest you start running Jun, because when I catch you-" she gave another fierce slash with her sword, "I am going to make you _junkless_ ..."

* * *

"Well hello mister jellybean I think I'll pick you up!" Hina sung cheerfully. She leaned down to snatch a green jellybean that was lying on the floor, before moving on to pick up another a few feet away. There was in fact an entire trail of jellybeans leading out of the house to the garden. Some might find this suspicious, but not Hina. As far as she was concerned the jellybeans were entirely innocent of ulterior purpose.

"Mmm, mmm! Hina really likes the pink ones!" she gobbled down a handful of pink jellybeans that she had gathered and laughed contently, before continuing to gather up the rest, the trail soon leading her outside. She followed it to a corner of the garden where she found a large birdcage. It was the same as the ones Kohaku had used to lock them all up a few weeks ago. Hina didn't know what it was doing in the garden, but the trail of jellybeans led right up to the cage. Inside it, in plain sight, lay an entire box of her very favourite unyuu - soft rice cake with strawberry.

"Oh! Yummy unyuu!" Hina dropped the jelly beans she'd been carrying, instantly forgetting them in the face of a bigger prize. Without even stopping think she ran right into the cage and picked up the box, laughing happily as she did so. A second later she realised that something was wrong - the box was very light. Frowning, Hina opened it up and peered inside. To her intense disappointment it was empty.

"Oh my, I so don't believe you fell for that!" said a voice. It belonged to a very smug looking Suiseiseki. Hina turned to see her sister slam the cage door shut and lock it, trapping her inside. Gasping, Hina dropped the empty box and ran up to the bars, while Suiseiseki chuckled at her own brilliance.

"Hey! Let Hina out!"

Suiseiseki snorted. "You really are a puny little meathead. Only a complete moron would fall for a simple trick like that. I swear, you're so hopeless it's a wonder you make it through each day in one piece."

Hina shook the bars angrily, her brow furrowed in frustration. "Hina's not a moron! Stop being so mean you ... you big meanie you!"

"Well now, I suppose I _could_ let you out," Suiseiseki admitted as she brandished the key to the cage, "But you would have to do something in return."

Hina's eye's widened as she saw a possible ray of hope. She should have known better really, with Suiseiseki being involved. "Unyuu?"

Suiseiseki leaned close, grinning like a mischievous shark that was just about to feast. "It's quite simple; just swear your allegiance to me and I'll let you out. Promise to be my obedient servant, like you were for Shinku. That's all I ask."

Hina gaped at her for a moment before stamping her foot in a fit of temper. "No! Hina is not a servant, she is a free doll!"

Suiseiseki sighed, though looked far from defeated. "Oh well. If that's your answer then I have no choice but to leave you here. I'm actually quite hungry, I think I'll have a snack while I wait for you to change your mind ..." she reached around and produced a soft rice cake with strawberry. Hinaichigo watched with wide-eyed yearning as her elder sister took a leisurely bite into her very favourite food, an expression of ecstasy showing on her face. "Mmmm, this is simply divine. I'm so glad I'm not locked in a cage like a dumb animal and can go and get things like this to eat whenever I want ..."

"Ahhh!" Hina raised her hands to her mouth as Suiseiseki took another taunting bite. Truly her cruelty knew no bounds. Hina thrust a hand through the bars to try and grab the sweet rice cake, but Suiseiseki moved it out of her reach, tutting as she wagged a disapproving finger at the little doll.

"Now now, as long as you are my prisoner you are not permitted to eat or drink anything. Of course if you were my servant rather than my prisoner, I would have no problem with sharing the rest of these with you ..." as if by magic she produced a box of the strawberry rice cakes, this one open and obviously not empty. Hinaichigo stared at it with longing, as if hypnotised by it.

"Hina wants ..."

"Then swear. Promise to be my servant and I will let you out. Well?"

"Ohhhhh!" Hina shook the bars, frustrated. She really _really_ wanted to eat those unyuu, and she certainly didn't want to be locked up. But she didn't want to be Suiseiseki's servant either. Shinku was bossy, but at least she wasn't mean to Hina, not like Suiseiseki, who was always playing cruel tricks and calling her names. Finally she crossed her arms and turned her back on her sister, stamping her foot again as she did so.

"Defiant until the end," Suiseiseki sighed, "In that case I have no choice but to eat these yummy snacks all by my self."

"Put the box down and step away!" commanded a voice from across the garden. Both Hina and Suiseiseki turned and gasped with surprise. It was Kanaria, clutching what looked suspiciously like a bazooka of some kind. She had it pointed directly at Suiseiseki, who stared down the barrel of the weapon as if it were an oncoming truck.

"Yaaaah! Put that thing down you crazy freak you!" Suiseiseki blurted out. Kanaria barred her teeth at the gardener doll, her aim not faltering in the slightest.

"Hinaichigo is my friend, and I won't let you treat her like this!" she snapped, "And besides, you've always sort of pissed me off y'know!"

Suiseiseki dropped the box of rice cakes and waved her hands frantically in front of herself in a blur. "Wait a second! We can work this out! Let's not be hasty!"

"Target acquired!" Kanaria screamed, her finger tightening on the trigger, "BONSAI!" She fired the weapon, which let out an almighty Boom and fired some kind of projectile at Suiseiseki, who hurled herself onto the grass and clapped her hands over her ears. Consequently the missile sailed over her and impacted the cage containing Hina instead. There was a thunderous explosion and a lot of smoke. Kanaria dropped the spent weapon and doubled over, coughing.

After a few minutes the smoke started to clear. Kanaria waved her hand to help it dissipate. "Wow, I wonder if I used a little too much nitrate ... oh no! Hinaichigo!" She hurried over to what remained of the birdcage, Suiseiseki getting up and joining her. It was little more than a twisted and blackened heap of scrap metal now. There was no sign of Hinaichigo at all. Kanaria burst into tears and cried onto Suiseiseki's shoulder. "I've killed her! This can't be happening! She was too young to die! TOO YOUNG! IT'S JUST NOT FAIR Y'KNOW!"

Suiseiseki buried her face in her hands and wept dramatically. "Oh woe is me! I have lost the kindest and bravest sister I ever knew! The world shall so not see her like again! She was the best of us, the best!"

There was a groan from the bushes that put a halt to both dolls theatrics. They glanced at each other, wondering if the other had heard as well. And then they both heard it again, a low moan, the kind heard when someone is in considerable pain. They watched in astonishment as Hinaichigo crawled out of the bushes behind the wrecked birdcage, covered in soot and scorch marks. She coughed a few times and then collapsed onto the grass. Suiseiseki and Kanaria hurried over to her side and jumped with joy.

"Hinaichigo, you're okay! You're okay!" Kanaria gushed. Hina tried to lift her head but found the effort too great.

"Oww, my ears are ringing. It keeps going crash bang boom inside my head."

Suiseiseki glared at Kanaria and gave her a sharp shove. "This is all your fault you big forehead you!"

"My fault? You were the one who locked her up!"

Both dolls started bickering with each other, forgetting the fact that Hinaichigo was lying at their feet in a sorry state. After a short rest she prised her eyes open and spotted the discarded box of strawberry rice cakes lying on the grass a short distance away. She crawled over to it, completely unnoticed by the other two dolls, who by now were shaking each other and yelling at the top of their voices. Hina managed to sit upright and removed one of the soft rice cakes with strawberry from the box.

"Unyuu ..." she murmured with satisfaction, and chomped down on it.

* * *

Jun leaned his back against the side of the building and panted heavily, fighting for breath. He'd been running from that demented doll for almost five minutes now. She was drawing it out, trying to make him as frightened as possible before she moved in for the kill. Suigintou was really _evil_.

"There you are," she said, landing lightly a few feet away from him. Jun yelped and tried to run, but a bundle of black feathers had wrapped themselves around his ankle, causing him to trip and land in a sprawled heap on the ground. When he recovered he turned over just in time to see Suigintou lunge at him with her sword. The point of the blade dug into the ground a little over an inch away from him, right between his legs. He stared at it with wide eyes, wondering for a terrible moment if she had missed on purpose or not.

"Close, but no cigar ..." Suigintou tugged the sword free and waved it at Jun's face. He scurried back from her but she advanced.

"Please, we can talk about this, just put the sword down and talk!" he pleaded, desperate. Suigintou scoffed at him.

"What is there to talk about? I want Shinku for myself, which means you have to die. It's that simple."

Jun waved his hands at her as if that would somehow dissuade her from cutting him into tiny chunks. "What the heck do you mean you _want _her? She's your sister! She's yours already!"

She sneered at him and flicked her blade deftly, drawing blood across Jun's cheek. He cried out and clapped a hand to the stinging wound. "You are such a dummy Jun, really. My love for Shinku goes much deeper than sibling affection. I care for her more than you can imagine, but she only has eyes for you. That will change once you are out of the picture."

"You gotta be kidding me," Jun breathed, unbelieving, "You as well? What the hell is this, national incest day?"

She lunged at him with her sword, but Jun managed to pull out of the way just in time. Panicked, he struggled to his feet and ran for his life. Suigintou cursed herself for missing the killing blow and glared at his retreating back.

"That's right Jun, run while you still can. This is one fairytale where the prince doesn't get to live happily ever after ..."

* * *

In addition to having two bruised and aching humans, the living room now also contained three injured and battered dolls. They sat, slouched and in one case flopped about the room, groaning and occasionally coughing. Souseiseki stared at them in bewilderment.

"What happened to you three?" she asked.

"Don't ask," Suiseiseki moaned. Kanaria managed to point an accusing finger at her.

"She started it," she winced. It had been a pretty rough fight they'd had.

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Hina wants more unyuu ..."

The living room door burst open and Shinku marched in, head held high, or at least as high as a doll could manage. She strode over to Hinaichigo and peered down at her, her expression as haughty as it'd ever been.

"Really now Hinaichigo, you are filthy."

"Got blowed up," Hina offered by way of an explanation. Shinku sniffed.

"That is no excuse. Go and tidy yourself up this instant. You cannot be my maid of honour looking like that."

Hina raised her head a fraction. "Unyuu?"

Shinku ignored her and turned to face a startled Souseiseki, who was still trying to work out if she'd heard Shinku correctly. "Souseiseki, I would very much like it if you would be the one to give me away. Traditionally a lady's father performs that function, however under the circumstances I would like you to fulfil the role."

Souseiseki raised a hand to her head just to make sure it was solid and she had a firm grip on reality. "Shinku, what are you talking about?"

Shinku stopped as she was about to turn away. She frowned. "Is it not obvious? I am getting married this afternoon."

"WHAT?" everyone in the room yelled simultaneously.

"Don't tell me you and the runt are finally tying the knot?" Suiseiseki breathed, unable to believe she was even asking the question, much less that it might actually be true. Shinku turned her nose up and closed her eyes.

"Certainly not. As if I would marry such a vulgar, debased, degenerate sorry excuse for a human being."

"Then who _are_ you going to marry?" Souseiseki asked, struggling to think of possibilities and coming up with precisely zero after Jun. Shinku glanced about and realised that everyone in the room was watching her with abject anticipation. She seemed genuinely surprised that they were so clueless.

"Who else? Detective Kunkun of course."


	29. EP7: Timeout

Warning: The following chapter contains twincest. Consider yourself warned. By my warning.

So here is the final part of episode seven. I toned the crazy down for this chapter, so it's a bit more serious in tone. And yes, in case you're wondering, I do obsess about kissing. I can't help it :P

Also, I've been planning a prequel story for when I've finished Märchen, centering around a certain character, who makes an appearance here. Consider this a tie in with that prequel if I ever get round to writing it.

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE SEVEN

Timeout

* * *

The twins sat together in front of the glass doors, watching as Shinku strutted about the garden doing what she did best. Namely, giving orders. Hinaichigo, Kanaria, Barasuishou and the two humans were setting up chairs, tables and various decorations in preparation for the imminent wedding. And all the while Shinku clutched Kunkun in her arms, occasionally holding him up to ask his opinion. He never answered, at least as far as anyone could tell, because he was only a puppet. Shinku nevertheless seemed satisfied by his silent responses and resumed her job of bossing everyone around.

"I wonder where Jun and Suigintou are," Souseiseki pondered. Both of them had been absent for quite a while, which was almost ironic because they were the two people most likely to object to the proceedings.

"Shinku's really lost it," Suiseiseki observed, though she kept her voice low just in case said sister happened to overhear, "I mean what is she thinking? She can't marry Kunkun, he's just a stupid stuffed animal."

"I don't think she knows that," Souseiseki said, a hint of worry creeping into her voice. Shinku had always been enamoured with the dog detective, her usual prim and proper attitude melting away at the sight of him at work. Souseiseki had never had the heart to tell her that he wasn't real and that the Kunkun show was a work of fiction. In retrospect, perhaps she should have said something. She sighed heavily. "Hey, Suiseiseki?"

"What?"

Souseiseki hesitated for a moment. Normally she wouldn't ask, but she felt different today. Lighter somehow. As if her normal sense of duty and responsibility weren't weighing her down the way they normally did. She felt as if she could say anything without having to worry about the consequences. So she asked.

"Do you ... ever think about marriage?"

Suiseiseki peered sideways at her sister, her mouth hanging open. She closed it and giggled. "Well of course I do, sometimes. Why do you ask?"

Souseiseki removed her hat and set it down to one side. She gazed at the wedding preparations with a faraway expression. "I was just wondering who you would marry. What kind of person they would be."

Suiseiseki snorted. "What a silly question. Isn't it obvious?"

"No," Souseiseki admitted, regarding her sister seriously for a moment, "Tell me Suiseiseki, what kind of person would you want to marry?"

"Oh honestly!" Suiseiseki closed her eyes and extended her hands, as if to indicate that the answer should be self-evident. "You have to ask? You marry the person you love most in all the world, the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. There's only one person I know of that fits that description."

Souseiseki seemed genuinely at a loss. "Who?" she asked, honestly unable to see what her sister was getting at. Suiseiseki gaped at her for a long moment and then jabbed a finger into her side.

"You of course! I can't think of anyone I'd rather spend my life with," she said. And she said it with such charming sincerity that Souseiseki couldn't doubt her for a second. She was still shocked by her answer.

"But Suiseiseki, we're sisters. Sisters don't usually marry one another, it's sort of frowned on."

"Oh, giant WHO CARES!" Suiseiseki threw her arms up as if to emphasise this, "If anyone wants to tell me who I can and can't get married to, they better be wearing shin guards, that's all I can say," she folded her arms, a set look on her face, "If I can't marry you Souseiseki then I'm not marrying anyone. So there."

Souseiseki stared at her twin in awe, amazed at how cavalier and confident she could be all the time. She turned away and sniggered, a sudden thought occurring to her.

"What is it?" Suiseiseki asked, frowning, "What's so funny?"

Souseiseki shook her head. "Nothing, I was just wondering what father would say if we told him that we wanted to get married to each other."

"Oh he'd be fine with it," Suiseiseki waved a hand dismissively, "Just so long as he has Alice, he'll be happy."

They fell silent for a moment, watching their sisters (and step sister) struggle to arrange the chairs properly despite Shinku changing her mind every five seconds. Something started to nag at Suiseiseki, and with each passing second the gnawing desire to confess ate at her until she finally caved in.

"I kissed Barasuishou," she blurted out, her eyes staring straight ahead without seeing anything, hands clutching her dress for what little comfort that offered. "Well, I mean, she kissed me, but I didn't exactly stop her. I'm sorry Souseiseki. If I could have kissed anyone for my first time, I'd so rather it have been you."

Souseiseki laid her hand on Suiseiseki's shoulder, a mischievous smile on her lips that surprised her. "Actually, it was," she said.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean I was your first kiss Suiseiseki. I never told you this, but ..." she took her hand away from Suiseiseki and wrapped both of them around her knee's as she leaned back and gazed up at the sky. She cast her mind back to that time, her mismatching eyes shining with remembrance. "Do you remember the night of the meteor shower? It was back when we were visiting Hinaichigo and her new Master in France. We stayed up late to watch it, but you fell asleep in my lap."

"I ... remember," Suiseiseki murmured, recalling the night in question. She'd woken up the following morning to find that Souseiseki had stayed up all night watching over her. She had opened her eyes and looked up to see her twin smiling down at her with such a content look upon her face.

"Well when I saw you sleeping there, you looked so peaceful. I couldn't help myself," she admitted, smiling fondly at the memory, "I kissed you. I'm sorry I never told you before. I let my guard down that night. That's something I've never let happen again ... until today."

Suiseiseki frowned with puzzlement at her sister's words. "Let your guard down?"

"Yes," Souseiseki sighed and rubbed her eyes, as if she were momentarily tired, "I always have my guard up. I'm always trying to behave properly, say the right thing, do what's expected of me. It's ... hard, but I keep it up. I think I'm scared of what I might be like if I just let myself go," she glanced sideways at her sister, her expression softening, a smile flickering across her face again. "I envy you Suiseiseki. You are not like that at all, and you're a lot more fun because of it. I ... I love you dearly Suiseiseki."

"..." said Suiseiseki, at a loss for words, a rarity. Instead she opted to throw herself at her twin, wrapping her arms around Souseiseki and bowling her over with the force of her momentum. Souseiseki blinked with surprise as she found herself staring up into her sister's wide eyes, taken back by her forcefulness.

"Suiseiseki ..."

"Souseiseki, will you let your guard down again and say you'll marry me?" she asked, no, pleaded, "Not today, not even tomorrow, but someday. Say you will. Promise me!"

On any other day Souseiseki would have said no, or remained silent. But today she felt different. Today she didn't have to hide herself and pretend to be the person everyone expected. Today she was free to be honest.

"Yes, I will. I promise."

Suiseiseki's face glowed with such happiness and pure bliss that Souseiseki's Rosa Mystica resonated with her feelings in perfect harmony, and she felt that same soaring sense joy fill her up inside. Souseiseki touched a hand tenderly to the side of her twin's face and leaned forwards to kiss her, almost dizzy with such intense feeling.

Yes she would marry her. One day. Because Suiseiseki was right. You marry the person you love most in all the world, the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. For her, there was only one person who fit the description, and that was her own twin. The one who made her complete, who made her happy, the one she wanted to be with no matter what. Marriage was just a way of declaring to the world how they felt for one another. They were in love. How could that be wrong?

Shinku certainly seemed to think so, and let them know it by smacking Suiseiseki across the back of the head with her cane. The Gardener doll let out a yelp of pain and sat upright, rubbing her head and glaring at Shinku with an obvious look of shocked hurt. Shinku merely stared back at her and snapped off a scathing remark. "Really now, if you have time for that then you certainly have time to assist Hinaichigo with arranging the flowers," she said, "Kindly stop slacking and put yourselves to work. You are upsetting Kunkun and I will not have that."

They watched her march off, muttering apologies under her breath to the puppet dog about her sisters indolence. Suiseiseki rolled her eyes. "That's it," she said, "I'm going to get Jun."

* * *

Jun dropped to his knees in front of a towering dead tree, fighting for each tortured, laborious breath. He couldn't go on. He wasn't exactly fit at the best of times and the only thing that had kept him going this long was adrenalin. Now even that was gone. This was it. He couldn't run anymore. He turned around and slumped his back up against the tree, the bright hot pain in his chest threatening to make him pass out.

"Aww, and I was hoping for at least another five minutes," Suigintou said mockingly. She landed a dozen feet away and casually sauntered over, flicking the blade of her sword around in anticipation of what was to come. Jun managed to lift his head and fix her with a weary look.

"Just ... get it over with," he muttered, his demeanour one of complete defeat. Suigintou stopped, momentarily surprised.

"What's that? You're surely not just going to give up."

Jun gasped, his breathing heavy, "I'm done, okay? If you really want to kill me so badly then just do it already. Cut me up, run me through, whatever. I don't care."

She was standing right in front of him now, her sword aimed directly at his head. Jun didn't even look at her; he was too busy trying to breath and ignore the screaming pain in his limbs. The chase was over. All she had to do was strike and be done with it. She could be rid of this pest, this rival to Shinku's affection. Just one final cut. That's all.

Suigintou screamed and threw her sword away. It struck the ground and skidded a few feet further, the metal scraping against the stone. She stood with her back to Jun, fists trembling, eyes screwed shut, as if she could squeeze the life out of her feelings by sheer force of will alone. Jun somehow managed to smirk.

"I had a hunch you couldn't do it," he said. Suigintou rounded on him, her teeth grinding together. She glared.

"Oh is that right? Well aren't you a clever little boy."

"Not really. I just listened to Shinku before. She said you were a good person now. She's usually right about that kind of thing."

Suigintou continued to glower at him for a long moment. Then it was as if someone had reached into her and flipped a switch. Her rage subsided, replaced by the same look of exhausted weariness that Jun was doing such a great job of displaying. She slumped down beside him, leaning against the dead tree and staring off into the distance. They both sat in silence for several minutes, neither uttering a word. Finally Suigintou spoke, muttering under her breath as if she grudged telling him.

"I'm jealous," she said.

"Yeah, I kinda figured as much."

"Why her?" Suigintou regarded him, her voice an almost pitiful whine, "Why Shinku? You could have fallen in love with any of the other Maidens, or even that Tomoe girl. But no, it had to be Shinku. Why?"

Jun shook his head, not even trying to think up a proper answer to her question. "I wouldn't even know where to start. There's just too many reasons. You might as well ask yourself the same thing."

"And you wouldn't give her up?"

"Would you?"

"... no. I suppose not." She sighed and fell silent once more. She was still angry, she could feel it simmering away, but Jun was right. She couldn't kill him. Not _really_. Kirakishou would, of that she had no doubt, but Suigintou had resolved not to end up like her. Life was important and should be treated with respect. Even if it was a life she envied to the point of heartache. "You know she's a doll, Jun ..."

Jun gave a short laugh. "People keep telling me that like I don't already know. I'm not blind, I know what she is."

"And that doesn't bother you?"

He shrugged. "Why would it?"

"Well it means the two of you can't ..." she trailed off, hoping that Jun would understand her meaning without her actually having to say it. Jun had to wonder why she would have such a problem - it wasn't as if she was exactly shy. He growled with annoyance and clutched at his head.

"Geez! What the heck is with everyone? Is that all people think I care about?" he shook his head sharply from side to side, exasperated. "I don't. That doesn't matter at all, because I'm not that kind of person. Even if Shinku were human, I wouldn't ... I wouldn't do that! Okay?"

Suigintou was startled by his outburst. She stared at him as if seeing him in a whole new light. Finally she smiled and looked away. "Well, aren't you a regular Sir Galahad."

Jun scoffed and slumped his face down onto his arms. "Yeah that's me; a real knight in shining armour," he muttered sarcastically. He glanced up as he noticed a speck of green light descend from above. It took him a moment to realise that it was one of the Rozen dolls artificial spirits. He blinked at it, surprised. "Sui Dream?"

"There you are!" a voice cried out. They both glanced around and saw a frazzled looking Suiseiseki standing a short distance away, evidently out of breath. Jun still didn't understand how _dolls_ could get out of breath but apparently they did. Suiseiseki hurried over to them and waved her arms frantically.

"You gotta come quickly! It's Shinku!"

Jun and Suigintou exchanged worried looks. "What about her? What's going on?" Jun asked, getting to his feet. Suiseiseki jumped up and down and pointed back the way she had come.

"She's getting married you dolt!"

"WHAT?" they both shouted in unison. Suiseiseki grabbed a hold of Jun's leg and tried to push him.

"Come on Jun, you've got a wedding to crash!"

* * *

It was a short ceremony, made all the shorter by the fact that Nori didn't really know all of the words and was largely working from memory of half-watched television shows. At least Kanaria had added to the atmosphere by playing some wedding-type music on her violin. That still didn't change the absurd fact that Shinku was marrying a fictional puppet detective dog, and there wasn't anyone even remotely qualified to actually marry her in sight. Nevertheless Hinaichigo was crying, because someone has to cry at a wedding and she had quickly opted to fill the position.

"So umm ..." Nori's brow furrowed as she struggled to recall what part came next. They'd done the vows already (Shinku assuring them on Kunkun's behalf that he had made them), so that just left the issue of the rings. How they were supposed to fit a ring on Kunkun's paw was anyones guess. Did they even have rings to exchange?

"Nori!" Souseiseki hissed. Nori blinked and knelt down so that the doll could whisper something into her ear. Her eyes widened and she straightened back up, smiling brightly. "Oh that's right! I almost forgot ..." she cleared her throat, "If there is anyone here who has cause to object to this union, let them speak now or forever hold their peace!"

Silence. Pure, utter, deadening silence. Several of them glanced about, as if expecting at any moment that someone would burst into the garden, yelling at the top of their voice to halt the wedding. Gatecrashers spectacularly failed to appear, and Shinku was growing increasingly impatient.

"Anyone?" Nori whined. She sagged. "Okay, in that case I guess-" she stopped abruptly and dropped to the ground, evidently having fainted. Before anyone could react to this, a swirling grey vortex appeared above her, and from it came Suiseiseki, Jun and Suigintou. They all landed in a heap atop Nori, who was fortunately unconcious and did not mind. Jun struggled to his feet, hurriedly adjusted his glasses and then thrust a hand dramatically into the air.

"STOP THE WEDDING!" he shouted. Souseiseki covered her mouth with the back of her hand and chuckled. Shinku scowled.

"Jun, you are making a scene and ruining my wedding day."

"Good!" he yelled, striding up to her and putting his hands on his hips. "I mean what the hell Shinku? Married? _Married?_"

Behind him, Suiseiseki raised her hands over her head in a triumphant gesture. "Woohoo! I so crashed a wedding!" Meanwhile Kanaria had produced a camera and was snapping off pictures of the entire crazy affair. Shinku clutched Kunkun tight and stuck her nose in the air.

"This is your fault, Jun."

"_My _fault?"

"Certainly. If you could only remain true to your word then I would not need to seek solace in someone as dependable as Detective Kunkun."

Jun got down onto his knees so he was level with her, his face contorting into a mixture of anger and annoyance. "You gotta be kidding me! What happened before was all Nori's doing - she went crazy and threw herself at me."

Shinku seemed hesitant for a moment, doubt at Jun's guilt starting to creep into her voice. "Is that ... is that so?"

"It's true, Nori told me herself," Tomoe admitted, finally speaking up, "She's been acting as if she were drunk. I think ... a lot of us have been."

Suigintou finally managed to untagle herself from Nori and smoothed her dress out. She floated over to Shinku, her expression suggesting that she was about to do something she utterly detested. "Listen Shinku, if you ever doubt how much this human loves you then you're an idiot. Much as I hate to admit it, he's completely taken with you and would sooner chew off his own arm than betray you. He's as honourable as they come."

Everyone was stunned to hear Suigintou say something nice about Jun. Even Suigintou herself seemed mildly surprised with herself. Shinku lessened her grip on Kunkun and stared at Jun for a long moment. Finally she held the puppet dog up before her, her sparkling blue eyes brimming with tears.

"I am sorry Kunkun, but I cannot marry you. My heart belongs to another. I hope you can find it within yourself to forgive me, and know that I will always consider you a dear, dear friend ..."

There was an embarrassed silence from everyone as they watched this display. _Wow_, thought Jun, _she really believes he's real doesn't she?_ Shinku held Kunkun out towards Tomoe, who carefully took the puppet from her and cradled him in her arms. Everyone breathed out a sigh of relief. Then Shinku spun around and slapped Jun across the face, knocking his glasses crooked and leaving a red welt on his cheek.

"_That_ was for not explaining yourself sooner," she said sharply, "Next time you should come to me at once and tell me the truth. Is that clear?"

"Crystal," Jun smiled and rubbed the side of his face. Shinku nodded once, satisfied. She turned her attention to Suigintou, who was standing there staring at Shinku with the oddest of expressions. Shinku frowned.

"Suigintou, whatever is the matter?"

Blushing profusely, Suigintou flung her arms around Shinku in a tight embrace, startling the crimson doll. It went on for quite some time, and the look on Suigintou's face suggested she was in her happy place. Suiseiseki, who had moved to stand beside her twin, nudged her with her elbow and whispered to her. "See? It's not just us."

* * *

A day later and the effects of Barasuishou's little prank had finally worn off. No one figured out that the Enju doll was responsible, but they knew that _something_ had happened to make them act out their desires the way they had. There was a great deal of embarrassment all-round. Nori in particular couldn't even speak to her little brother, save to blubber emphatic apologies and scurry away. Tomoe only dropped by once, briefly, to leave Hinaichigo, and Jun noticed that she and Nori pointedly avoided eye contact with one another. Something had happened there, but he didn't know what. And he wasn't sure he wanted to either.

It wasn't all bad though. Suiseiseki and Souseiseki seemed to be in a good mood, and Jun would occasionally notice them holding hands and giggling together. Hinaichigo was as cheerful as ever, although for some odd reason she seemed to be deathly afraid of jellybeans. Weird. And of course Shinku was back to her old self, repeatedly reinforcing the fact that Jun was her _servant_ and should behave accordingly. And make the tea right.

It took him a couple of hours staring at a blank wall to finally come to terms with it, but Jun bit the bullet and called up Tomoe. He told her to tell Micchan that he was all for doing more fashion shoots if she wanted him to. He'd then spent the next hour walking around with a permanent blush on his face, yet reluctantly admitted to himself that he was looking forwards to it.

Jun wondered into the living room to find that it was empty. It was late and the dolls had all gone up to bed. Nori was still hiding from him, so everything was quiet. Peaceful. Something felt ... off though. It was like the calm before a storm. He knew he wasn't imagining it when the lights started to flicker. There was a sudden blinding flash of light, and Jun cried out and flung his arms over his eyes. When he lowered them he was startled to see that someone was standing in the middle of the room. They'd just ... appeared out of thin air.

"Hey, who the heck are you and how did you get in here?" Jun demanded. The newcomer spun to face him and very nearly fell over.

"Woah," he flung out his arms to maintain his balance and blinked a few times, "Okay, dizzy. That's to be expected. I mean, a couple of centuries in a couple of seconds will do that to you. I'm fine, don't worry ..." the stranger tried to take a step towards Jun but his legs seemed to want to go in the opposite direction and he fell unceremoniously onto his backside. Jun simply stood there and stared at him as he bounced back up onto his feet, swaying slightly.

"Right. Steering's a bit wonky. Gotta be careful," said the boy. It was a boy, about the same age as Jun. He was dressed ... strangely. He was wearing an old fashioned sleeveless dark green jacket over a white blouse, a red bow-tie and a pair of dark blue trousers rolled up to his knees. And boots that looked as if they'd been cobbled together from several different pairs. He had short, spiky blond hair and glittering emerald green eyes that were currently having trouble focusing.

"Just who the heck are you?" Jun yelled again, just in case he hadn't heard him the first time. The boy was clutching a strange looking object in his hands, something like a cross between a compass and a pocket watch, with a very steampunk style to it. He squinted at it for a moment and then _spoke_ to it.

"Thanks Holie, I think we got the right time this time. I mean it looks like it doesn't it? Yeah. Let me know when you're ready for another jump, okay?" He tucked it away and then pointed both index fingers at Jun. "Sakurada, right? Not me, you. At least I hope you're him. Him being you of course. Wait, I'm not making any sense ..."

"You think?" Jun muttered, wondering just how a crazy person had magically appeared in his living room.

The boy slapped his forehead. "I'm making a complete mess of this, aren't I? Pandora would slap me silly if she saw me now. I mean where are my manners?" he extended a hand and smiled nervously, "I'm Rozen. Pleased to meet you."

* * *

Jun: You're Rozen? _The_ Rozen?

Rozen: That's my name, don't wear it out!

Souseiseki: Father!

Rozen: Uh, actually, feel free to wear my name out.

Tomoe: Jun, I need your help.

Jun: Forget it! There is no _way _I'm going out on that stage!

Barasuishou: You ... fixed her.

Rozen: Good as new. Try not to break her this time.

Shinku: Next time, on Rozen Maiden: Märchen,

Rozen: The light of truth eludes us ...


	30. EP8: Future Shock

Short chapter here, but I have a bit of a stubborn headache. And I have no chocolate! *cries*

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE EIGHT

Future Shock

* * *

"Rozen? _You're_ Rozen?" Jun asked in shocked disbelief. Rozen rolled his eyes.

"No, I'm really his evil twin brother come to steal your cookies!" He gave a mock evil laugh, but stopped when he realized that Jun was staring at him as if he were being serious. "That ... that was a joke. I was kidding. I don't have an evil twin brother, and if I did and I was him, I certainly wouldn't announce it like a complete ... you know what, never mind ..." he seemed to lose momentary interest in Jun and began examining his surroundings as if searching for something. Jun was still rooted to the spot, too stunned to act. He blinked and shook his head.

"Wait, no, you can't be," he started to say. Rozen made his way unsteadily over to the kitchen and opened one of the cupboards optimistically. Jun gaped at him. "Hey, what are you doing?"

Rozen held up a tin and peered at it suspiciously. "Looking for food. You're not supposed to eat anything for a full five hours before jumping through time. Not unless you want it to come back up on you."

"Huh? What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means I'm hungry. Famished, actually. What's this?" he held the tin up questioningly, "I can speak Japanese fine but I'm a bit rusty at reading it. I can't tell what it says."

Jun glanced at the label. "Straw mushrooms. Look-"

"Mushrooms? Yuck!" he flung the tin over his shoulder, where it crashed into the sink, "Hate mushrooms. What else do you have here ..."

This was infuriating. Jun had a thousand questions to ask this intruder, but the guy seemed more interested in raiding his kitchen for a late-night snack. He stormed over to him just as he sprang up clutching a wrapped curry bread. Rozen tore the clear plastic wrapping off and bit into it. His face screwed up as if to suggest that he disliked the taste, yet he immediately took another large bite from it.

"Listen, whoever you are you can't just come barging into my house at this time of night!"

Rozen held up a finger to stop him, swallowed, and then cleared his throat. "Actually, I'm pretty sure I can. Or have you just not been paying attention to anything these past couple of minutes?"

Jun snarled and snatched the curry bread away from him. "Look, are you gonna give me a straight answer or what?"

"What?"

"Huh?"

And again Rozen seemed to lose all interest in him. He turned away and wondered over to the refrigerator, wobbling slightly as he went. He rapped his knuckles against it, shook his hand and then opened it. His face lit up as he peered inside and felt the coolness waft out at him. "Oh! That's clever! A kind of cooling storage receptacle for food and drink ..." he pulled out a carton of orange juice and a tub of yogurt before shutting the fridge and turning back to Jun with a wide grin on his face. "The future, eh? Marvelous."

Jun couldn't take it anymore. He clutched the side of his head and screamed. "ENOUGH ALREADY! Who _are_ you? How did you get in here? What are you _doing_ here?"

Rozen set his pilfered snacks down on the kitchen table and considered Jun's questions for a moment. Then he started ticking them off on his fingers one at a time. "I'm Rozen, I got in here by bending spacetime, and I'm here to help you," he paused and ticked off another finger, "After I've had something to eat."

Shoulders sagging, Jun slumped down into the chair opposite Rozen and leaned his elbows on the table. "Help me how? To do what?"

Rozen frantically began searching around for something, glancing this way and that, even peeking under the table. He frowned. "Lost something?" Jun asked. Rozen held up the tub of yogurt he had opened.

"Spoon."

"Over there."

"Thanks. Oh, hey, I think my manners are improving a little."

They both sat in silence, Jun watching the strange boy eating strawberry flavored yogurt and showing every sign of enjoying it. As Jun waited for some kind of coherent answer from him, he finished off the curry bread he was still holding, chewing slowly.

"That," Rozen vigorously licked his spoon clean and set it down, "Is delicious. Do you have more?"

Jun sighed and pointed at the fridge. "There's some more at the back, and there's some strawberry ice cream in there somewhere as well."

It took a few more minutes before the boy had finished pillaging the refrigerator, but he finally sat back down and took the trouble to explain a few things. He waved his spoon at Jun. "Okay, now pay attention. I'm gonna lay out the basic facts so you have at least some idea of what's going on. So sit still. Don't fidget."

"What are you, my mom?" Jun muttered. Rozen gave a short laugh.

"No, that's just what Pandora says to me all the time. 'Sit still. Don't fidget. Pay attention or I will be forced to hit you again.' That sort of thing. She's a doll, you know. And a bossy one at that."

Despite himself, Jun smirked. "Sounds kinda familiar."

"Right. So here's the deal. My name is Rozen. I'm from the eighteenth century. I got a message from _myself_, apparently, from the future. It gave me a bunch of instructions on how to make this," he pulled out the strange contraption from before and clunked it down on the table. It gave off an odd noise, prompting Rozen to wince. "Sorry."

"What is that thing?" Jun asked, peering at it. Rozen shrugged.

"I haven't thought up a name for it yet. For now I just call it a Timepiece. With a little help from a certain artificial spirit, it allows you to zip from one time period to another. Which is how I wound up here in what is, from your point of view, the present day. From my point of view, I'm in the future. It's a whole big ... subjective point of view sort of ... thing. Mess."

Jun regarded Rozen with a vaguely worried expression. "Do you even know what you're talking about?"

Rozen shook his head. "Haven't the faintest idea. I'm just sort of winging it as I go along. It seems to work. Well ... most of the time."

Jun scratched his head, trying to sort all of the facts (such as they were) into something resembling an order. "So ... you're Rozen from a couple of hundred years ago-"

"Right."

"-and you got a message from your future self telling you to make this and come here, to my time-"

"Right again."

"-why?"

Rozen snatched up the Timepiece from the table, twirled it in the air and tucked it away again. He smiled. "To help you find Pandora's Box."

Jun's eyebrows shot up. "You know where it is?"

"Umm, well ..." Rozen seemed a bit dubious for a moment, "I know where it is in _my_ time, because I found it after all. The note I got from myself said it was in the same place in your time. So I guess I just have to show you where that is."

"And where is it?"

Rozen drummed his hands on the table cheerfully. "Lebensbaum. My home town. It's where I live."

Jun slumped down onto the table and groaned. "In Germany."

"Yup."

How the heck were they supposed to get to Germany? That was hundreds of miles away! He wasn't even old enough to drive, much less take a flight to another country. He groaned again. Why the hell didn't the present day Rozen just sort all of this out himself? Why the song and dance with sending his past self? It made no sense. Unless he was doing it because he remembered it happening when he was just a kid, but that was no kind of reason at all ...

Jun sat upright and sighed. "So will finding Pandora's Box help bring an end to the Alice game?"

Rozen frowned, a spoonful of strawberry ice cream halfway to his mouth. "The what?"

"The Alice game, you know?"

Rozen set the spoon down and gaped at Jun as if he'd just blurted out the five thousandth digit to pi. "What's the Alice game?"

Jun stared back at him. Surely he knew? He'd created it! "You don't know?" Rozen shook his head slowly. "It's the game where the Rozen Maidens fight each other for the right to become Alice. I would have thought that you of all people would know that."

Rozen looked as if he were about to faint. He swayed slightly. "Rozen ... Maidens? What are those?"

"You're kidding?" Jun eyed him skeptically. Again, he shook his head, watching Jun as if he were an unexploded bomb about to go off any minute. "The Rozen Maidens are your daughters ... oh," he stopped, realizing that this Rozen, being just a kid, very probably hadn't got round to making them yet. Rozen gasped.

"My ... daughters? _Daughters?_" And then he did faint, right out of his chair and onto the floor. Jun got up and gently poked him with his toe. The guy was out like a light. Huh.

"Well," he said to no one in particular, "This is going to make for an interesting conversation in the morning."

* * *

Shinku awoke earlier than usual. This was because someone was knocking on her case. Stifling an unladylike yawn, she opened the case lid and found herself face to face with Jun. She glanced past him to the clock over his bed and saw to her astonishment that it had only gone six o'clock. It was very unusual to see him up so early in the morning.

"Good morning Jun," she said, "Whatever is the matter?"

Jun hesitated for a moment. "Uh, Shinku, do you think you could come with me? There's someone downstairs I'd like you to meet. Just let the others sleep though; I think seeing one of you will be a big enough shock as it is ..."

She didn't understand what he was talking about, but decided that it would be simpler to do as he said and see for herself than ask him to explain. Once she had smoothed the creases from her dress and tidied her hair up a little, she allowed Jun to carry her downstairs to the living room. Nori was already up and busy preparing breakfast in the kitchen. She waved to the doll and smiled.

"Good morning! It's steamed rice and Miso soup this morning, okay?"

Shinku was more interested in the stranger sitting at the kitchen table. It was a young blond haired boy about the same age as Jun. He was already tucking into the breakfast Nori had made him, but glanced up as Jun entered the room. His bright green eyes went wide as they fixed on Shinku, and his face lit up with joy. He slipped out of his chair and came over.

"Oh! You never told me you had one as well Sakurada!" he said. He leaned over and examined Shinku intently, tilting his head this way and that. "She's ... beautiful. What's your name, Miss?"

It seemed surprising to Shinku that Jun would invite a stranger into the house and allow them to see her, yet he had said that he wanted her to meet him. Curious. "My name is Shinku. And what is your name may I ask?"

Jun chuckled, enjoying every second of this. "Don't you recognize him Shinku? This is your father, Rozen."

There was an extremely labored silence after he had spoken. Shinku and Rozen stared into each others eyes for a very long moment, both far too stunned to actually react. Finally Shinku tugged at Jun's sleeve. He leaned his head close to listen, her voice so low he almost didn't hear her.

"Jun, put me down please."

He put her down carefully and stood upright. A second later Shinku spun and kicked him in the shin. Jun let out a cry of pain and clutched his injured leg, hopping on the spot as he did so. Shinku glared up at him.

"That was not amusing in the slightest," she said coldly, "Explain yourself this instant."

"Wait a second," Rozen staggered back a step and pointed at Shinku, "_Her?_ _She's_ one of my daughters? But I thought ..."

"That I meant human daughters?" Jun winced and rubbed his shin, "Nope, they're dolls. All of 'em. And pretty rotten dolls at that."

Rozen sat right down on the floor and pressed a hand to his forehead, a look of immense relief showing on his face. "Oh thank ... I thought ... but dolls ... _that's_ okay ..." he blinked and focused his attention on Shinku again, who seemed thoroughly bewildered. Rozen grinned and sprang forwards onto his knees, laughing merrily. "Fantastic! I never imagined I'd ever have the talent to make such a wonderful looking doll. Shinku, was it? That means crimson. A name that suits you, I should say. I'm Rozen, pleased to meet you."

Shinku was at a complete loss for words. She didn't know whether to back away or embrace this person. "Jun?"

"It's him alright," Jun confirmed, strolling over to Nori's side and taking sniff of breakfast, "It's just Rozen as a ... how old are you?"

"Almost fifteen," said Rozen.

"A fifteen year old. He's traveled hundreds of years forwards in time, and he hasn't made any of you guys yet, so he's never seen you before. Hey Nori, will you stop cringing? Anyone would think I was gonna bite your head off or something ..."

Shinku turned back to Rozen and stared. She was still at a loss for words. This was ... father. Her father. She'd waited so long to be with him, and here he was, smiling at her as if she were the most wonderful thing in all the world. And yet he'd never met her before. It was strange beyond words. She didn't know how to react, what to do or say. What was the proper protocol for dealing with a time displaced version of ones father? No one had ever written _that_ down anywhere. She decided to start off on safe ground.

"Would you care for some tea?" she asked. Rozen nodded.

"Sure, I'd love some."

"Jun, make the tea. And wake the others before their breakfast gets cold."

Jun turned to Shinku and scowled. "Why do I gotta?" he took one look at Shinku's expression and hastily changed his attitude. "Uh, on second thoughts I'll get right on that ..."


	31. EP8: Dress Crossing

Sorry this took so long, I got distracted playing Final Fantasy X-2. Go Gullwings! Seriously though, whatever moron thought that Sphere Break would be a fun mini-game should be eaten alive by zombies ...

Not a hugely exciting chapter but I'm just setting things up for some fun later this episode. Oh, and keep your eyes peeled (eww!) as I'm going to try and write up a short Wizard of Oz fic with the Rozen Maiden as the characters.

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE EIGHT

Dress Crossing

* * *

"All right people, that is it! We've nailed it. I'll see you all tonight, just make sure you don't get drunk, arrested or killed. And be here on time!"

Jun chuckled. Nice pep talk. He leaned back in his chair and stretched, stifling a yawn with the back of his hand. He'd sat through the drama clubs final rehearsal for the school play, and he had to admit that it was pretty impressive. Everyone was in costume, too. _His_ costumes, that he designed and helped make. Seeing them up there, on stage, made it all worthwhile. He'd had to put up with more than a few jibes and backhanded remarks from people, but he was used to that by now. Besides, a lot of people were really impressed with his work too, and he'd received a fair amount of praise.

"So, how were we?" Yuna Kuwata asked, giving Jun a twirl so he could get a good look at his handiwork. Yuna was playing the part of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch, and as such was sporting a suitably black dress and pointed hat. Jun had nevertheless managed to put a lot of subtle detail into the outfit. The same could not be said of her makeup, which was anything but subtle. He was amazed that the unanimously voted most pretty girl in school had volunteered to play a part that required her to have her skin painted bright green.

"You guys were great, good job," he assured them. Them being Yuna and Tomoe. Tomoe stood beside the Wicked Witch and the difference was like night and day. She was playing the part of Yuna's counterpart, the Good Witch Galinda, and the dress Jun had made for that particular role would have been fit for an angel. She positively glowed under the stage lights. Tomoe raised a hand to her chest as she tried to catch her breath.

"That really takes a lot out of you," she said, flushed from the rehearsal. Yuna nodded her agreement before clasping her hands together and beaming at Jun.

"Thanks again for helping out, the costumes are fantastic. I don't think anyone could have done them as well as you."

Jun shrugged as if to suggest it was nothing, yet he appreciated the compliment all the same. "No big deal. Besides, it was kinda fun."

Yuna leaned over to Tomoe and giggled loudly. "No big deal! Will you listen to him? He works miracles with materials and says it's nothing."

"That's Jun," Tomoe replied, shrugging back. Yuna giggled again and then waved to them both.

"Well alright then, I'll see you guys tonight. Don't be late, okay?"

Jun and Tomoe watched her leave to get changed, Tomoe in particular staring after her for quite a while. When Yuna was finally out of sight she rounded on Jun, a coy smile on her face. At least Jun thought it was a coy smile, but having never seen such a thing on Tomoe before it was at best a guess. "So," she said in a hushed voice, "do you think she's cute?"

Jun blinked, not quite sure he'd heard her right. Cute? "Huh? You mean Kuwata? Uh ... yeah, I guess so. Why are you asking?" Surely she wasn't trying to get him to hook up with Yuna? For one thing he wasn't interested, and for another Shinku would boil him alive in a vat of tea if he did. Tomoe glanced back at the door she had just left through and sighed.

"I was just wondering ... if she'd ever be interested in someone like me."

Jun stared at Tomoe as if she'd just announced that a tornado had demolished her house. What had she just said? Surely he'd misheard her ... "Huh?" was all he could manage. Tomoe turned back to him and softly clutched his arm, a vague sense of wonder in her eyes.

"Tell me Jun, do you think I'd have a chance with her? Is she out of my league?"

"Chance?" What was she talking about? "Tomoe, are you asking what I think you're asking?"

"Yes!"

"Oh," Jun finished lamely. Huh. Really? Tomoe? Jun slumped down in one of the nearby empty audience chairs and stared off into space for several long moments. Finally he shook his head and turned to Tomoe, who had sat down beside him. "Wait, you know she's a girl, right?"

Tomoe smirked. "Not much gets past you, does it?"

Jun fell silent again, thinking it over. And now that he did, some of the things Suiseiseki kept telling him the past few weeks started to make a little more sense. She would bring Tomoe up in conversation and then start saying really weird things ... he hadn't really paid her much attention as he'd had no idea what she was getting at. In retrospect the Gardener doll had obviously spotted something about Tomoe that Jun had completely missed. His brow creased as something occurred to him.

"Wait a second, I thought you had a crush on me?" he blurted out abruptly. He blushed as he heard what he'd just said, thinking that perhaps he could have worded it better. Too late. Tomoe simply nodded.

"I did. I still sort of do. But Jun, we've been the best of friends our whole lives, and to be fair you're not exactly ..." she hesitated and glanced sideways at him, and he could tell she was struggling not to snigger. Jun sagged, knowing exactly what she meant, though he asked all the same.

"Not exactly what?" he said, deadpan. Tomoe stared at the back of the chair in front of her, not meeting his glare.

"When you were little you used to design and make princess dresses for my dolls. Nori's too." She held up her arms as if to indicate the elegant white dress she was wearing now as part of her costume. "You still do."

Jun crossed his own arms and turned his glare to the chair in front of himself, scowling. "That's a witches dress, not a princesses. Besides, that doesn't make me a girl."

Tomoe lowered her arms, smiling faintly. "You live in a house full of dolls," she went on, "that you play and drink tea with. You like dressing up as a girl and you did it so well that only one person in our entire school figured out it was you, and even then she admitted it was a lucky guess. All of your friends are girls, have you noticed? Jun, if it weren't for the fact that you come to school in a boys uniform and happen to be very flat-chested ..." Tomoe reached across and laid a hand against said chest, prompting Jun to turn a noticeable shade of crimson, "I'd seriously wonder about you."

When Tomoe had removed her hand, Jun leaned his arms on the armrest furthest from her and then slumped his face down onto them, sulking. "You're totally exaggerating things. I mean I'm a guy, okay? Anyone can see that."

Tomoe said nothing, letting her silence speak for itself, much to Jun's annoyance. It was more annoying because she was right, loathe though he was to admit it. She'd neglected as well to outright say that she had a crush on him, yet obviously reserved such feelings for other girls. Meaning that either he was an exception, or ... he sort of wasn't. Probably the latter.

After a while he said, "She's not."

"Not what?"

"Not out of your league. As far as leagues go, you're at the top. I can't say if she's that way inclined, but if she is then you definitely have a chance."

"Thanks ... Jun-chan."

Jun groaned. "Knock that off!"

Tomoe leaned closer to Jun, gripping the armrest nearest her and smiling impishly. "Tell me Jun, did you try on any of the costumes you made for the play?"

"No."

"Did you try on the costume I'm wearing? I bet you did. I bet you looked nice in it," Tomoe teased, her voice as soft and sweet as honey. Jun rounded on her, hoping to mask his obvious embarrassment with anger.

"You know, I'm really trying hard right now not to hit a girl," he snapped. Tomoe didn't buy his attitude for a second; Jun could read her after knowing her for so many years, and likewise she could tell what he was really feeling. Right now, it certainly wasn't anger.

"Actually, it's not so bad for a girl to hit another girl, so feel free ..."

Jun jumped to his feet and yelled at the top of his voice, "I'M A GUY!" Which caused everyone in the entire hall to stop what they were doing and stare at him. It wasn't packed as most people were on their way home by now, but there was still at least a half dozen drama club members present. Jun wilted under their combined stares and slipped back into his chair, hiding his face behind his hands and wishing fervently that he were dead.

* * *

One of the things about being back at school was that when school was finished, Jun, Nori and Tomoe could walk home together. This was something Nori enjoyed a lot, or at least had until just recently (given her behaviour after Suigintou's infamous dinner). When Tomoe waved them goodbye and headed for her house, Nori and Jun walked on in silence. Normally Nori would be quizzing Jun about how his day had been, but not today. He knew why she was silent, and he knew that sooner or later he was going to have to say something to her about it. For now though he wanted to ask her something else.

"Hey Nori ..."

His sister jumped, startled. "Umm, yeah?"

"I was just wondering ... do you think I'm too ... too much of a girl?"

Nori seemed momentarily relieved that he wasn't going to mention the thing she'd been dreading. She then frowned as she considered his question. "Of course not, you're my little brother."

Jun put his hands behind his head and leaned his head back against them. "I know, it's just that Tomoe made a pretty convincing case earlier. I have no guy friends I hang out with and I _do_ happen to do a lot of girly stuff."

"Well yeah, but ..." Nori struggled to come up with a convincing argument but she couldn't really argue with that. After a while she smiled and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it so much. You're you, you know? Just be yourself and forget about what other people say."

Jun lowered his arms and stared at his sister, feeling vaguely bemused. Nori could be a real ditz sometimes, but she could also say some pretty sensible and reassuring things as well. He smirked and looked ahead as they approached the front door to the Sakurada household. "Yeah, well I bet you'd never catch Rozen wearing a dress ..."

It's amazing the effect a few little words can have on reality. Things like _'Don't worry, I know exactly what I'm doing ...'_ and _'Relax, nothing can go wrong ...'_ can produce disastrous results even if the person would normally have no problem. It's almost as if the universe will bend over backwards just to prove someone wrong in a certain situation. How else could it be explained then, when they opened the front door and found Rozen standing in the hallway.

Wearing a kimono. And makeup.

Cosmic Joker - 1

Jun Sakurada - 0

"Oh hey, you're back!" Rozen grinned and waved to them as if nothing were amiss. He frowned suddenly and held out a hand to catch their attention. "Say, do I have a doll on me?" he spun around and sure enough, Hinaichigo was hanging from the back of his (or rather Nori's) kimono. She quickly climbed up and perched herself atop his head in a familiar fashion, laughing happily as she did. Rozen turned to face them and peered upwards. "Actually, never mind ..."

* * *

Half an hour later Rozen was back in his own clothes and most of the makeup had been wiped away. Jun sat and watched him remove the last of it as Suiseiseki pointed out the bits he missed.

"Seriously," said Jun, "Why?"

Rozen jabbed a thumb at Suiseiseki. "Her idea. She said it was only fair, seeing as I dressed her twin sister up as a boy ..." he frowned and glanced across the room to where Souseiseki sat whispering to Shinku, "Souseiseki doesn't seem to mind all that much though ..." he got up suddenly and strolled over to the doll in question. She was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea. Rozen leaned on the table and put his face a few inches away from hers. He was still amazed by the quality of the Maiden dolls and marvelled at how well made they were. Technically this meant that he was gushing over his own work, though he seemed to hold as much affection for them as admiration at his craftsmanship.

Souseiseki blinked and smiled nervously. "What is it, father? Is something the matter?"

Rozen cupped his chin with his hands and watched her closely. "I was just wondering ... would you rather I made you as a boy?"

Souseiseki gaped at him, stunned by his question. Shinku and Suiseiseki seemed equally as flabbergasted. Rozen decided to clarify. "I mean since I haven't made you yet, who's to say I can't do something different with you when I do get round to it? You don't seem to mind the fact that I made you a boyish doll and gave you boy's clothes. If it'd make you happy, I can just make you a boy doll. If that's what you want. Well?"

Souseiseki reeled at the prospect of his offer. She glanced across at Shinku, though if the fifth Rozen Maiden had any opinion on the matter she did not voice it. Souseiseki lowered her gaze and sighed, realizing that it was her own opinion that mattered. And once she thought about it, the answer came to her almost at once. There was nothing to think about, really. She raised her gaze back up to her father's expectant expression and shook her head once.

"No. Thank you for the offer father, but I'm happy the way I am."

Rozen's face split into a wide grin and he planted both his hands on the table and pushed himself upright. "Good. I like you just the way you are as well."

Suiseiseki abruptly jumped up into Jun's lap, startling him. She smirked, which was never a good sign with her. "I bet you wish someone would make you the same offer, right Jun?" she waved a finger under his nose and giggled, "I can so guess what _you'd_ say ..."

Jun snarled and grabbed hold of her, lifting her up. "Hey Rozen, how about you do us all a favour and just skip making this doll altogether?" he suggested. It wasn't a serious suggestion but Suiseiseki looked scandalised all the same.

"How can you say that, you ... you horrible human, you! We have a covenant together, doesn't that mean anything to you?" she swung her legs and managed to land a solid kick on Jun's nose. He promptly dropped her and clutched at it with a cry of pain. Suiseiseki picked herself up and dusted her dress off, scowling at him. "Really now, you're supposed care for me, not arrange for me to stop existing!"

"You hit me you rotten doll! My nose! Dammit that hurts!"

"It so serves you right. You can just - waah!" Suiseiseki stopped mid-sentence as Rozen picked her up from behind. He turned her around and tickled the tip of her nose, chuckling as he did so.

"You've got a right little temper, haven't you?" he said. Jun lowered his hands and revealed a very sore red nose.

"Yeah, no kidding. That doll's a menace," he muttered. Suiseiseki laughed.

"Honestly, my Master is such a big baby. If it weren't for Shinku and me he'd so be dead in a ditch somewhere."

"Whatever," Jun threw himself back in his chair and crossed his arms in a huff. "Have you come up with a plan to get us to Germany yet?"

Rozen carefully set Suiseiseki down and tickled her once more for good measure. Then he bounced upright and dramatically pointed at Jun. "Yes! Well, no ... I have a thing. It's sort of like a plan but ... better. Just wait. First thing tomorrow I'll have us in Lebensbaum. Trust me, I'm a ..." he paused and peered up at the ceiling as he thought through all the things he was, which didn't take very long, "Well I'm just a kid, but I'm basically trustworthy, so you can certainly trust me. Take my word for it. It's a good word. It should be, after all it's my word and I'm trustworthy so ..." he trailed off as he lost his train of thought. He blinked and then suddenly pointed at the door. They all watched it expectantly, and a few seconds later it was pushed open by Hinaichigo.

"Hey, everyone, guess who's here!"

Jun groaned. "Nothing good ever starts with 'guess who's here' ..."

It turned out to be Suigintou, who entered behind Hina and cast her gaze about the room until she spotted Rozen. She gasped as she saw him and raised a tightly clasped hand to her chest. "Father?"

Rozen clapped his hands to his cheeks and very nearly squee'd with delight, his emerald eyes sparkling. It reminded Jun of when Nori had first met the Rozen Maiden. The reaction was practically the same. "Another one! And she has wings! Seriously now, how many kids do I have?"

Suigintou gave Rozen a good look at her wings when she spread them wide and shot across the living room like a doll-shaped bullet. She collided with him and knocked him to the floor. Strands of her long white hair brushed his face as she knelt on his chest, and she gazed into his eyes with such intensity that he was struck speechless. Black feathers rained down about them. Suigintou smiled, as if she had finally found something very precious to her after years of searching. Which wasn't that far from the truth.

"Oh father ... I am Suigintou, and I am ... your first."


	32. EP8: Magic Fingers

Number five is alive! I was away for a while, bit of a crisis. Things are still a mess. Long story short, it's getting really hard for me to find work where I live, which means it's tough as hell to pay the rent, the electricity, the phone _and_ internet bills. And if I fail to pay any one of those, I'll be offline. Which could still happen at any time. So if I disappear suddenly, you'll know why. So anyway, here's a new chapter! And ... it sucks. I'm out of practice and my nerves are a bit frayed, so sorry about that. I'll try to keep the updates coming, but they might be a bit erratic. And crap.

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE EIGHT

Magic Fingers

* * *

The last rays of dusk bathed the garden in a soft, warm golden glow. Jun and Nori worked in silence to bring in the last of the washing. It was getting late and it would soon be time to get ready to go see the play. As Jun removed the pegs from one of his t-shirts, he glanced across at Nori, who seemed vaguely uneasy. Oh well, he thought, now was as good a time as any ...

"Nori, how long are you gonna be this way?"

Nori jumped at the sound of his voice and immediately looked guilty. "W-what? I don't know what you mean."

Jun sighed. "Oh, come on sis, you know exactly what I'm talking about. You've been tiptoeing around me ever since that day."

His sister cringed and scrunched up the socks she was holding. "Well can you blame me? I mean after what I did I'm surprised you can even stand to look at me anymore."

This was really bothering her, wasn't it? Jun had tried to tell her to just forget about it, but he didn't think she believed him. She honestly thought that he was disgusted with her, and everything he said to the contrary was just to try and make her feel better. It was ridiculous, considering some of the crazy problems they frequently faced. Jun shook his head. "Like I said, it's no big deal."

"How can you say that!" Nori rounded on him, her hands curling into fists and scrunching the socks up even more, "I tried to ... I tried to ..."

Jun winced at the recollection. "I remember, I was there. Nothing happened though, so no harm done."

Nori's cheeks flushed red and she tried to hide her face behind her hands. This meant she buried her face in the pair of socks she was still holding. At least they were clean. She shook her head from side to side. "It was wrong! I'm a disgrace as a sister Jun-kun. I'm so ashamed of myself."

It was a pretty pathetic sight, and even though he was trying to be supportive Jun couldn't help but roll his eyes. Good grief. His life was just plain weird sometimes. He sighed and tried to think of something to snap her out of it. "Look, we're siblings. We care about each other a lot. You ... you're just really emphatic about it, but that's because you're _so_ caring, Nori. That's what makes you such a great person."

Nori lowered the socks a fraction. "Really?" came the muffled reply. Jun couldn't help but smirk.

"Really. Stop beating yourself up about it already. I mean geez, you're basically worrying because you love me _too_ much. That's just stupid. I'd much rather have that than be fighting with you."

Nori threw herself at him and hugged him tightly. "Oh Jun-kun, you're the best brother I could ask for!"

Jun almost laughed at that. "No I'm not, I'm just not the worst. And I used to be, so I know what I'm talking about."

They finished gathering the remainder of the washing, and Jun was pleased to see that she was smiling again. They each hoisted a basket full and prepared to carry them inside. "You think you have it bad," he said, adjusting his grip, "I heard Suiseiseki and Souseiseki talking about getting married. To _each other._ And Suigintou is head over heels for her sister _and_ her father. All things considered, I don't think you have that much of a problem."

As they entered the living room, they found Suigintou sitting on the couch watching television. She didn't have much choice, as she was tied up. With rope. She scowled at the TV set as Shinku and Hinaichigo sat either side of her. Jun set his basket of washing down and stared at the bound doll, not quite believing what he was seeing. "Is that really necessary?" he asked.

"That's exactly what I said," Suigintou muttered, "I only offered to wash father's back."

Shinku didn't take her eyes off the television, though Jun could see the disapproving expression on her face all the same. "You were having vulgar thoughts about father. This is for your own good, Suigintou."

The white-haired doll regarded Shinku slyly for a moment. "Really now Shinku, you ought to try having some vulgar thoughts of your own. You never know, you might like it."

"Umm, should we do something?" Nori whispered to Jun. He shook his head. It was probably best to keep out of it. Hinaichigo had been following the conversation, and seemed confused by something.

"Shinku ... what does vulgar mean?"

Shinku still did not direct her gaze away from the TV. It wasn't even showing the Kunkun show, but it appeared as if she was trying to distract herself. Unsuccessfully. She frowned slightly. "Vulgar is behaviour unbecoming of a lady. Give it no further thought Hinaichigo, for it deserves none."

Suigintou scoffed. "Oh Shinku, you are such a bore ..." she turned her head to face Hinaichigo, who was still baffled by Shinku's less than helpful answer. "What have I told you before Hina; if you have any questions then simply ask your big sister and _I_ shall answer them for you. For example, vulgar is like the time Jun peeked under Shinku's skirt when she was wound down."

Jun almost choked with surprise at her words, and immediately felt heat rising in his face. "W-what?" he spluttered, "How did you know about that?"

Suigintou turned her attention back towards the television, smiling with an infuriating air of smugness. "I know about all of your debased activities Jun. Such as the perverted Hentai collection on that computer of yours."

Nori gasped with surprise. Pleasant surprise. She glanced sideways at her brother and giggled. "Really Jun? I had no idea ..."

"Unyuu? What's Hentai?"

"SHUT UP! That wasn't me! Itō emailed me that just to wind me up, I deleted it as soon as I saw what it was!"

"And the dreams he has about Shinku ..."

"WILL YOU SHUT UP ALREADY!"

"Oh?" Shinku seemed to take a sudden interest in the loud conversation, and finally looked away from the television. She regarded Jun instead, who would really rather she didn't. "What's this now?"

Suigintou seemed to thoroughly enjoy tormenting him. She flashed him a wicked smile and then casually glanced at Shinku. "Oh, didn't he ever tell you about them? I can't say I'm surprised. Beastly things, full of groping and moaning and what not ..."

"You lying rotten doll! That is not what I dreamt at all!"

"Then what did you dream, Jun?" Shinku asked. A simple enough question, but Jun's voice caught in his throat even as he intended to answer. He shrank back suddenly, his blush so visible now that Hina laughed and pointed to him, saying "Jun's all red!", which did nothing to help. Suigintou mercifully took pity on him and sighed.

"Actually they were quite boring," she admitted, sounding almost disappointed, "The two of you were just being sickeningly nice to each other, paying one another timid little compliments and smiling a lot. About the only interesting dream was one where he kissed you whilst you were all rehearsing a play about Snow White. And even then he woke up in a sweat the second your lips touched. How old _are_ you again, Jun?"

Jun was spared any further embarrassment, because at that moment something utterly insane happened to draw everyone's attention away from him. Rozen burst into the room, dripping wet and wearing nothing but a towel. He ran forwards a few steps and skidded to a slippery stop, snapping his fingers repeatedly. "Word! Word! I need a word!"

Everyone was so shocked by his sudden and erratic appearance that all they could do was stare. Shinku and Hinaichigo stood and peered over the back of the couch at him, while Suigintou rocked back and forth and tried to wriggle out of the ropes holding her in place. Nori blinked and rubbed the side of her head. "Umm, parsnips? Wood? Sunshine? Sunshine is a good word."

Rozen shook his head, splashing droplets of water across the floor in the process. He seemed to be extremely excited about something, yet agitated at the same time. "No, it's a Greek word. I think. You know, the one you shout when you've just had a really great idea. What was it again?"

"I believe the word you are looking for is 'Eureka'," Shinku said helpfully. Rozen grinned and jabbed a wet finger at her.

"Yes! Eureka! Eureka, eureka, eureka! Haha!"

Jun simply stared, too dumbstruck for words, even Greek ones. Something was bugging him about Rozen's appearance. Yes, obviously he had just hopped out of the bath. At least he had paused long enough to grab a towel, unlike a certain Greek inventor. No, the problem, just a minor little thing really, was that Rozen wasn't wearing the towel around his waist. He had it tied up under his arms, the same way a girl would.

"What's going on?" Suigintou continued to struggle to both free herself and turn around to see what was happening. Everyone ignored her. Rozen realised that they were all staring at him and glanced down at himself.

"Oh! Look at me, I'm dripping all over your house. How careless of me. Terribly sorry. I just wanted to be nice and clean for going out tonight. You said a play, right? I love the theatre. Saw Romeo and Juliet one time with my little sister. We both thought it was rubbish. Love's Labour's Won now, _that_ was a good play. Aaaand ... I'm still dripping. Sorry."

They watched him leave, feeling mildly shell-shocked. Jun blinked and waved his hand in front of his face a few times, thinking, _did that just happen?_ Meanwhile, Suigintou screamed.

"If someone does not untie me this instant, I will break free and turn you all into junk!"

* * *

It was a quarter to eight and Nori _still_ wasn't ready. Jun glanced at his watch for what had to be the hundredth time and muttered under his breath. What was taking so long? The play started at nine; Jun had promised Tomoe he'd be there an hour before. As he paced back and forth at the foot of the stairs, he was startled when he almost bumped into something that hadn't been there a second ago. It was Barasuishou.

"Uh ... hi there. Umm ..." Jun didn't know what to say. The creepy Enju doll had been acting out of sorts for days now. One minute she would be giggling and chasing Hinaichigo around the house in a game of tag, the next she would be sitting on the _ceiling_, watching everyone in complete silence. Jun was starting to wonder if Rozen had made a mistake when he repaired her and something had snapped inside. Barasuishou stared at Jun for a long moment.

"Come," she said abruptly, before brushing past him and climbing up the stairs. Jun gaped, taken aback.

"Huh?"

She didn't respond and he had no choice but to follow her upstairs. She led him to his own bedroom and pushed the door open to reveal Rozen standing at the side of Jun's bed. Fully dressed and mostly dry, he was staring down at a familiar looking figure wearing orange. It was Kohaku, Barasuishou's broken sister. She was laid out on the bed as if having a quiet nap.

"Hey, what's going on?" Jun demanded, taking a step into his room. Rozen spun to face him, eyes widening.

"Ah! Great, just the person I wanted to see. This poor doll," he jabbed a thumb over his shoulder to indicate Kohaku, "is broken. Why haven't you fixed her already?"

Jun frowned. "I tried. I couldn't do it. I'm just not good enough."

Rozen actually stuck his tongue out at him. "Rubbish," he said, "Barasuishou here has been telling me all about how you patched up that clown and called its soul back, not to mention repairing Shinku's arm. This should be a piece of cake to someone like you."

"Well ..." Jun struggled to think of what to say. He shrugged. "It's not, okay? I told you already, I tried to fix her, but she's damaged inside. There's nothing I can do."

Rozen strutted over to Jun, shaking his head and tutting. "Give me your hand," he instructed, extending his own. Jun just gawked at him, wondering what the heck he was talking about. Growing impatient, Rozen rolled his eyes and waved his hand about. "Come on Sakurada, I'm not going to propose. Give me your hand."

Jun reluctantly did as he said and presented his right hand. Rozen took a hold of it and started to examine it. He held it up, peered at it, turned it over and squinted. "Good," he said, "Now wiggle your fingers."

"What?"

"Go on, wiggle them! It wont kill you."

So Jun wiggled his wingers, feeling like a complete idiot and growing increasingly concerned that Rozen might be insane. Rozen watched his fingers intently and quickly covered his mouth as he sniggered. Jun gritted his teeth.

"What? What's so funny?" he demanded. Rozen shook his head and let go of Jun's hand. He was smiling about something.

"Nothing, sorry. It's just ... you have no idea do you?"

"No idea about what?"

Rozen seemed about to answer but stopped as something occurred to him. He gestured for Jun to follow and led him over to the bed where Kohaku lay. Barasuishou continued to watch them in silence from the doorway. Rozen sat down beside the red-haired doll and indicated that Jun should do the same. He then took a deep breath. "Okay, believe me when I say that you can easily repair this doll. The only thing stopping you is that you don't think you can. And there's no surer recipe for failure than doubting yourself."

Jun tore his gaze away from Kohaku and directed it at Rozen with a growl of annoyance. "But I don't know what to do!"

Rozen chuckled. "Of course you don't, it's instinct. You've wired all of the basic skills you need into your head, now you just need to let your fingers do the work. Look, give me your hand again. No, your left hand this time." Rozen took a hold of Jun's left hand and pressed their palms together, intertwining their fingers. Then he grabbed Jun's right hand and steered it so that it was over Kohaku, palm down facing her.

"What-" Jun started to ask. Rozen quickly shushed him.

"Listen. This is easy. Remember when you repaired Shinku's arm? You didn't try, did you? You just thought about what you wanted and it happened. It's the same here; don't think about it, _want_ it."

"You might as well tell me to click my heels together and make a wish," Jun scoffed, finding it hard to believe a word of this. But, well this was Rozen after all, wasn't it? If he didn't know how to do it, then who would?

"If you like," said Rozen, "If it makes it any easier, imagine it as touch typing, or sewing. You relax and let your fingers do the work. You've trained them to do what needs doing without having to think about it. Just keep in mind what you want and let them do their thing."

Jun raised a sceptical eyebrow. "How do _you_ know about touch typing? You've only been here a day."

"And I've had a bunch of darling daughters talking my ear off about everything from strawberry rice cakes to a detective puppet show," he reached across and flicked Jun on the forehead, prompting Jun to yelp with surprise.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"I'm trying to get you to shut up and do as I've been telling you to. Did it work?"

Grumbling for a few seconds more, Jun concentrated on the doll in front of him and gave it a try. Well not thinking about how to do it was easy, seeing as he didn't have the faintest _idea_ how to fix her. And of course wanting her fixed was no problem either. But it wasn't as if sitting here trying to will it to happen would just magically-

"Woah!" Jun's eyes went wide as he felt a sudden surge of warmth flow from Rozen's hand into his own. Almost at once his free right hand glowed with a bright golden light. Kohaku flared with a brilliant corona of sparkling energy and floated a few inches up towards Jun's hand. He watched in amazement as his fingers made odd movements, as if rapidly typing out instructions on a keyboard. In response, the gaping hole in Kohaku's chest where she had been impaled began to close. Just like magic.

The light faded and Kohaku drifted gently back down onto the bed. Jun turned his right hand over and stared at it in wonderment. Had he really just done that? He glanced over at his other hand, which was still holding onto Rozen's. Maybe he had, but he'd had a helping hand as well. Rozen grinned and let go. "What did I tell you? Easy. Maybe now you have some idea of how special you are."

Jun had to resist the urge to laugh at that. Him? Special? Hardly. He lowered his gaze shook his head. "Not really."

"Hey," Rozen waved his hand in front of Jun's face to get his attention, "Not just anyone can do something like that. It takes a particular kind of person. You have hidden talents. And I don't think I'm the first to tell you that, either."

Jun held his hands up and wiggled his fingers, a wry look on his face. "Magic fingers, right? Give me a break Rozen, I'm just a dumb kid."

Rozen crossed his arms and huffed, giving up. He twisted around and fixed his green eyes upon Barasuishou, who had not moved an inch during the entire affair. He jerked his head, inviting her over to see her sister. She hesitated at first, then cautiously approached the bed where Kohaku lay. She still had not stirred. Was she fixed?

"Eiko?"

The word was faint, barely above a whisper. Yet there was no mistaking; it had come from Kohaku and no other. Her bright orange eyes fluttered open and she sucked in a long, deep breath. She sat upright in a sudden swift motion and blinked up at Jun, who was sitting in front of her. Her head tilted slightly. "Eiko?"

"Umm ..." said Jun. Kohaku frowned and rubbed the side of her head.

"No ... wait, you're not. You're ... Jun. What happened?"

No one else seemed about to answer her, so Jun was left to do that himself. He stumbled over his words a few times before getting a coherent sentence out. "Well, you sort of got broke and went away for a while. But I ... I mean we ..."

Her eyes widened as she realised the implications of what he was saying, and she gasped. "You brought me back. I remember now ... you called me back from the darkness."

"If you say so-" Jun started to say. He was cut off as Kohaku sprang forwards and wrapped her little arms around him, embracing him tightly.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"Err, okay-"

Kohaku seemed to be on the verge of tears. She snuggled her head into Jun's lap, much to his intense embarrassment. "So cold ... it was so dark and cold, and so very lonely. Thank you for bringing me back Master Jun."

"Wait, what? Hold on just a second, I'm not your Master!" He searched about for some sign of Barasuishou in the hopes that the other Enju doll would be able to take care of her, but there was no sign of her. It was as if she'd just vanished. He frowned. "Hey, where'd she go?"

Nori appeared at his doorway, having finally finished getting ready. Anyone would think she was going to be in the play herself with the amount of time she'd taken. She waved to him. "Hey guys, are you ready? We should get going. The play starts in almost an hour."

"Coming," said Jun, intending to get up. Unfortunately Kohaku was holding tightly onto the front of his shirt and showed no sign of letting go in a hurry. He tried to prize her off without hurting her, but it did no good. Finally he asked Rozen for help.

"Who, me?" Rozen pointed a finger at himself and then gave Jun a look of mock disappointment, "Sorry, can't help you there. I'm just a dumb kid."


	33. EP8: Something Wicked

Phew! Here is the final chapter of episode eight. It's quite a long chapter (I think it was about eleven pages in word) and it was very late when I wrote it, so it might not make a whole lot of sense. Either way this will probably be the last update for Märchen this month, as I really need to work on my writing entry if I'm to have any chance of meeting the deadline. A million thanks to all you fantastic people following this, and I hope you enjoy. If you don't, feel free to send Suiseiseki round to my house to bug the heck out of me :D

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE EIGHT

Something Wicked

* * *

The school was in an uproar. The play was due to start in about fifty minutes and the drama club were frantically running around trying to be ready in time. It wouldn't be long before the prospective audience started to show up, and the tension was so thick you could taste it in the air. That special mix of breathless anticipation and jumbled nerves. Jun was just relieved that his part in it all was already done. All he had to do was sit back and enjoy the show.

In theory.

"Oh man, where _is_ he?" Jun wondered aloud. Back at the house Rozen had told him to go on ahead without him, and that he would follow behind. Why exactly, he hadn't said, and Jun hadn't been all that thrilled at the prospect of leaving a fourteen-year-old boy from the eighteenth century wondering about town on his own. But he had been adamant. Something about wanting to talk to the Maidens.

Well, just so long as he didn't get hit by a car or something on the way here. After all, the way Jun's luck these days seemed to run it wouldn't surprise him in the least to wind up with a history destroying paradox that erased a huge chunk of his life from existence. Having past-Rozen in the present time was pretty dangerous, at least for the Rozen Maidens. If anything serious happened to him, they would never be created. And wouldn't that just make everything one giant headache? He was just going to have to trust that present-Rozen remembered all of this from when he did it, and knew that his past self would be fine. Did it even work that way? He didn't have a clue. Shinku had mentioned that her father 'transcended time', whatever the heck that meant. So ... maybe.

Jun finally got fed up waiting and went looking for him. He didn't have to look far as it happened, as he soon found Rozen surrounded by a small crowd of girls, several of whom were in costume already for the play. At first Jun thought that Rozen himself had drawn the crowd.

If only.

"Ohh! They're so _cute!_"

"Do not touch me so casually," reprimanded a familiar voice. It couldn't be ... surely not?

"Hina likes cuddles!"

"Uh-oh," said Jun. Unfortunately it was exactly what it sounded like. The small crowd of girls around Rozen were admiring the Maiden dolls, all of whom Rozen had brought with him, save for Kanaria. As he drew nearer, Jun glimpsed Suigintou perched on Rozen's shoulder like a smug raven. One of the girls had picked Hina up and looked about ready to administer the cuddles said doll had just admitted to liking. Shinku, Suiseiseki and Souseiseki were standing beside their father enjoying (or not) the wide-eyed stares of wonder from the other girls. One, wearing a dress Jun had made himself, knelt beside Souseiseki and peered close, her face a picture of pure rapture.

"You're _adorable!_ What's your name?"

"She's Souseiseki, and I'm her elder twin sister, Suiseiseki!" She grabbed her startled sister and gave the adoring girl the thumbs up. The girl in question looked as if she were visibly struggling to resist the urge to glomp them both.

"I told you they were real!" insisted another girl with twintails, "These are the dolls Sakurada kept talking about on his blog!"

Ah. That would be Tsuzuki. She'd been nagging him for some time wanting to come round and meet the Rozen Maidens. Jun had refused, because he was sure it would only spell trouble. As it turned out she was a close friend of Tomoe's, and since Hinaichigo spent a lot of time at her house these days, Tsuzuki had gone there instead. Hina said she was a lot of fun, but then Hina pretty much thought that anyone who wasn't Shinku or Suiseiseki was fun.

"Hey Sakurada," Rozen waved, a stupid grin on his face. It took Jun a long numb moment to recover from the shock of seeing the dolls out in public and actually being gawked at by some of his classmates. When he'd sufficiently recovered his wits enough to move again, he staggered over, intending to ask Rozen what the hell he thought he was doing. Shinku stopped him before he could even start.

"There you are Jun," she said primly, gesturing towards him, "Pick me up please, before someone else takes it upon themselves to do so without my permission."

"Huh? Shinku ... what are you all _doing _here?"

"Father thought it would be nice for us to go out for the night and see the play," explained Suigintou, still sitting cheerfully on Rozen's shoulder. A parrot, Jun thought, not a raven. A very annoying talking parrot. Shinku meanwhile seemed to grow irritated by the fact that he had not done as she'd instructed.

"Jun! Pay attention. I said pick me up."

"Geez, fine," Jun nudged his way through the throng of giggling and gasping girls and scooped Shinku up into his arms. He heard Hina laughing as she was apparently being tickled, whilst Souseiseki shrank back behind her father's legs, seemingly uneasy at all the attention. Jun concentrated on Shinku, hoping to talk some sense into her. "Don't you think this is a little ... dangerous? I thought you guys normally kept hidden from people."

Shinku dismissed his concerns out of hand. "As long as father is with us, we will be fine. There's no need to fret so."

Jun glanced momentarily at Rozen. The young, pretty much still a kid Rozen, who had yet to become the master alchemist and dollmaker he would eventually be. Was this such a good idea? Well ... no one was freaking out at the sight of them at any rate. That was good. Judging from the snippets of conversation he overheard, it sounded as though his constant mention of the dolls in his blog had apparently grounded their existence somewhat. It was as if they were all finally getting to meet the cute distant relative he had always been talking about (so to speak). Still, it probably wouldn't be such a great idea for the dolls to be seen by the general audience who were soon to show up. He doubted grown adults would react in quite the same way. Not unless they were all like Micchan.

"So this is the school you've been going to," Shinku observed suddenly, startling Jun who'd been watching Suiseiseki bask before the glowing admiration she no doubt felt she richly deserved. He blinked and faced her.

"Yeah, I guess. What do you think of it so far?"

Shinku turned her icy blue eyes towards the gaggle of girls surrounding Rozen and her sisters. Her expression was inscrutable as ever. "There seem to be a great many attractive girls that attend here."

Jun almost choked at her words, but recovered swiftly and treated her to a sudden hard, sly look. "Shinku, you're not getting jealous are you?" he said, fully expecting a slap for such a remark but thinking it would be worth it anyway. It didn't come, in fact Shinku actually seemed pleasantly surprised by something. She regarded him instead with a hint of a smile.

"Not at all Jun," she said, sounding quite happy, unless Jun was very much mistaken. What she didn't say, yet he heard anyway, was; _There are a great many attractive girls at the school you attend, yet I am the one you care for, and this ... makes me very happy, Jun._

He heard all of that as if she'd spoken the words herself, and as he gazed deeply into her bright eyes he felt sure she had, in a way. Feeling suddenly awkward and self-conscious, Jun turned away to conceal his flushed cheeks. As he did so, he noticed Tomoe hurrying towards him, all dressed up in costume and makeup just as she had been earlier during the last rehearsal. She was ... stunning. Which only served to hit home the point Shinku had (well, sort of) just made.

Of all the girls in the world, he had to go and fall in love with a doll.

_And I don't care. Doll or not, I _do_ love her._

"Jun, come quick," Tomoe gasped breathlessly, "There's been an accident ..."

* * *

Jun's first thought upon being told that there had been an accident was that somehow, one of the dolls had caused it. Because that would so totally be in keeping with his rotten luck. But no, all of them were right there with Rozen and his new fanclub. It could have been one of the others - Kanaria (who still hadn't been told yet that her father had appeared), Barasuishou (who'd just vanished into thin air) or Kohaku (who was currently sitting in front of his television watching Shinku's Kunkun DVD's and eating from a large bag of snacks).

It wasn't, as it turned out. In fact it was quite a mundane accident, all things considered. Mundane yet catastrophic at the same time. Yuna, the star lead role for the entire play, had fallen down some steps and badly twisted her ankle. She couldn't even stand, much less act out a major part on stage. Her ankle was already swelling and looked considerably painful, a fact her contorted face attested to.

"W-what?" Even through the pain, Yuna still managed to gawk at Shinku. Jun had left the others behind, but Shinku had insisted on him continuing to carry her. Since the cat was already out of the bag as it were, he figured it couldn't hurt.

"What are you going to do now?" Jun asked, deciding that the best way to explain Shinku's presence would be to simply not acknowledge it in any way. It worked, and both Yuna and Tomoe mulled over the prospect of cancelling the play.

"We can't cancel," Yuna insisted, "The show must go on. Everyone will be here soon. We can't just turn them all away and say it's off! That would ruin the drama clubs reputation."

"I don't see what choice you have," Jun said, shrugging helplessly, "It's not like your part is a minor one. I mean the play is practically named for your character. The plot kinda falls through without you."

Tomoe caught Shinku's eye and she heard the doll's unspoken words; _I know what you're doing._ She nevertheless managed to keep her expression carefully neutral. Jun missed the exchange completely, and if his instincts had been geared more towards self-preservation rather than needlepoint and doll-repair, he might have started running right there and then. Sometimes though, hindsight can sneak up on you and slap you brazenly in the face. Which was what happened next.

"You have to do it, Jun," Tomoe said matter-of-factly. At first he didn't register the words, possibly because his mind outright rejected them and their meaning. Yuna did register them however, and then registered vague confusion.

"What? But ... how?"

"Huh?" Jun blinked, causality finally overruling his mental perception filter. Tomoe clasped her hands together tightly to steel herself for the explanation she knew she had to give yet dreaded all the same.

"He's the only other person who knows the part. He's been helping me rehearse for weeks now. I've seen him act the role, and he's actually very good at it. Jun is our only chance."

"Huh?" Jun parroted again. He looked from Tomoe to Yuna, struggling to comprehend the enormity of what was being suggested. Yuna regarded him thoughtfully for a moment, seriously considering the proposal.

"Maybe," she admitted, "It could work."

"Wait, what?"

"We've got no other choice," said Tomoe, "It's this or we cancel."

"Just hold on a second-"

"You're right. And I was so looking forward to this ..."

"I never said I'd do this! Forget it! No way!"

"We don't have much time left. Jun, you'll need to get changed right away if you want to be ready."

This was too much. Jun pressed a hand to his face to try and block out the sheer overwhelming unreality of it all. He'd fallen asleep. This was some bizarre twisted dream he was having. How else could he explain the Rozen dolls showing up at school, and now _this?_ Things like this just did not happen. Not really. Yes, the photo shoot had happened, but that was completely different. This wasn't real. This wasn't happening. He was going to wake up. Any second now, he was going to-

"Jun!" Shinku shouted his name, and since he was still carrying her she shouted it right into his ear. That was pretty hard to ignore. He lowered his hand and found her glaring quite fiercely at him. "You heard Miss Kashiwaba; there is not much time to prepare. You had best get ready."

"Like hell! There is no way I am going out onto that stage-" Jun pointed for emphasis, "Dressed up as the Wicked Witch, in front of the entire school! No way! Forget it! Not happening!"

The severity of Shinku's intense gaze did not falter in the slightest. A tiny part of Jun's brain realised that he'd already lost there and then. Now it was only a matter of time before the rest of him accepted it as well.

"You will do this, Jun. You will do this because many people are counting on you to assist them so that months of hard work and preparation do not go to waste. You will do this because your friends need you, and only you can perform what is required. But most of all, you will do this Jun, because you are my servant and I am ordering you to. Is that clear?"

The silence that followed would have made a pin drop sound like a crash of thunder. Jun and Shinku stared unblinkingly at each other, neither moving an inch, whilst Tomoe and Yuna watched wordlessly. Yuna in particular was itching to ask about the talking doll that Jun was carrying, yet she realised that this moment was vital to the future success of the play, and thus said nothing. After what seemed like an intolerable age, Jun wilted under Shinku's piercing blue eyes, his anger slipping away.

"Shinku ... please. This will make me the laughing stock of the entire school. I ... I can't do this. Don't ask me to."

He was begging, yes, because it was true. He was terrified at the prospect, yet he knew there was no way he could refuse Shinku when she said it like that. She'd call him out on his promise - he'd promised to serve her, he'd sworn on his life to do whatever it took to have her by his side. So if she insisted, then yes, he would have no choice. So he begged her not to insist. Shinku's expression finally yielded and softened at his words, and she reached out and laid a soothing hand on his reddened face. "Have faith in yourself Jun. You are more than capable of doing this, I know you are. I would not ask if I did not think you able. I said you were a boy of unusual courage, and I still believe that to be true."

Jun sagged. He knew he was going to have to do it now, and the weight of what lay ahead pressed down on him like a descending ceiling. Indeed it almost felt as if the walls were closing in around him, and he recognised the signs of an impending panic attack. He took a deep breath and pushed the feeling from his mind as best he could, then regarded the two girls who eagerly awaited his answer.

"Alright," he said, fighting the growing wooziness in his head, "I'll do it."

* * *

Jun very nearly fainted when he finally stepped out onto the stage. In full green makeup and wearing the black witch dress and floppy-brimmed hat he'd made himself for the part. Everyone knew something was wrong the second they saw him, and the second he opened his mouth they knew just who it was standing in for the injured Yuna. Whispered word had already spread before the play started, and now the rumours were confirmed true.

Jun Sakurada was playing the Wicked Witch.

They laughed, but not at him. They laughed at the jokes and the snappy one-liners, from him and the others. As the play wore on, Jun's confidence grew somewhat and he decided to give it his all and throw himself into the part. When Tomoe finally appeared on stage, he knew he could really do it. It was as if he were back home rehearsing the play with her, helping her to learn her lines and directions with occasional help from Nori and the dolls. And he heard them cheering him on - Nori, Hinaichigo and the twins. He didn't know where they were watching from, but he heard their shouts of encouragements over the chuckles and laughs from the audience. Shinku was out there somewhere as well; he could feel her eyes on him every moment he was on stage.

Finally it was done. Finished. Over. As the curtain fell to the roar of applause, Jun sank straight to the floor and lay flat on his back, relief flooding every inch of his body. He couldn't believe he'd done it. He had pulled off every line and action without a hitch. It was like magic. His throat was hoarse though and his stomach felt as if it'd left him quite some time ago. With the audience applause still going on, Tomoe appeared and peered down at him. He squinted up at her.

"How'd I do?" he asked in a strained voice.

"You have to ask?" Tomoe nodded in the direction of the curtain and the audience, as if the deafening sound were answer enough.

"I am _so_ moving to Osaka after this," he groaned.

Something was wrong. As the applause started to die off, Jun felt suddenly on edge. He sat bolt upright and found himself staring straight into the eyes of Barasuishou. Tomoe gasped and took a step away from the strange doll. Several more gasps of surprise sounded from the other cast members. Apparently Barasuishou's appearance had been quite sudden.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Jun asked, frowning. Barasuishou took a juddering step towards him, her face pained by something. As everyone else backed away from her, Jun leaned towards her on his knees. He was vaguely aware that the curtain had risen, but was too preoccupied with the Enju doll's frightening behaviour. Hushed whispers erupted from the audience as they watched Barasuishou take another faltering step towards Jun. Her legs gave way and she fell onto her own knees, Jun catching her as she slipped. He could feel her trembling. Something was _very_ wrong with her.

"Sakurada ..." she said, her voice barely above a whisper, the mere effort of speaking seeming to take a lot out of her. Somewhere in the darkness of the audience, Rozen and his daughters stood and stared at the scene in silent astonishment.

"Barasuishou, tell me what's the matter!" Jun pressed, feeling panic start to gnaw at him again. She looked hurt, badly hurt, but he couldn't see a mark on her. She'd once had her arm completely shattered and hadn't even blinked at the injury. That something could be causing her such torment must surely be a sign of how serious it was. She pressed a hand to her chest, visibly wincing with pain.

"Burns ... hot ... I cannot ... too much ..."

She wasn't making any sense and Jun was no closer to understanding what was wrong with her. He glanced out at the audience, hoping that the other dolls were still out there and might know what to do. Barasuishou suddenly clawed at the front of Jun's outfit, trying to get his attention.

"What is it?"

"Sakurada ... Jun," she gasped, fighting to get each word out, "You told me I could choose my purpose. I ... I am sorry. This is not my choice. Please ... forgive me."

Before Jun could say anything in return, she threw back her head and screamed. It was a glass-shattering high-pitched shriek of agony that made almost everyone in the hall clap their hands over their ears and wince. Only Jun was close enough to see what happened then - her right eye shattered completely out of the socket, and from it a single white rose bloomed forth. The crystals in her hair evaporated away, replaced with tiny pink roses. Finally her dress was enveloped in a sparkling aura of pinkish-white light, and when it faded she was now wearing a ruffled white outfit that was all-too familiar.

The shriek changed from a wail of pain and despair into a scream of joy and pleasure. As it subsided, Kirakishou lowered her head and grinned at Jun, who was still holding her. She ran her hand across his and shuddered at the sensation. "Mmm, feels ... good," she whispered. She flashed the stunned boy another smile as the rose in her right eye socket twirled around. "Hello again Jun. Long time. I see your broken heart has mended well."

Jun gaped at her, unable to quite believe what had just happened. "Kira ... Kirakishou?" he narrowed his eyes and gripped the doll tight, "Where's Barasuishou? What have you done with her?"

Kirakishou closed her eye and moaned in a disturbing manner. "Mmm, yes, that's it. Hold me tighter Jun. You have such a sweet touch. Must be those magic fingers of yours ..."

There was a metallic sound as Souseiseki pressed the blades of her shears against Kirakishou's neck. A moment later she was joined by Shinku, who did the same with her cane. The seventh Rozen Maiden did not seem terribly troubled. Her eye flicked open and fixed upon Jun for a moment. She winked at him and then stuck out her tongue for a brief instant.

"Step away Jun," Souseiseki advised. Jun didn't need telling twice and released Kirakishou as sharply as if he'd been burned. He staggered up onto his feet and backed away. Suiseiseki was at his side, watering can in hand and aiming directly at the seventh sister.

"Where is Barasuishou," Shinku demanded, "Tell us."

"Tell us," Kirakishou mocked.

"Answer her," said Souseiseki.

"Answer her."

"Oh that so does it!" Suiseiseki fired a blast of water at her captive sister's face. To her utter astonishment the water halted in mid-air and hung there, suspended. The droplets then reformed themselves into a single thick strand of liquid, which whipped sharply back around and smacked Suiseiseki across the face with enough force to hurl her sideways.

Before Souseiseki and Shinku could get over their own surprise at this, Kirakishou stood and gripped their respective weapons in her hands. Seemingly without effort, she lifted both dolls into the air, spun them around and then hurled them at Suiseiseki, who was struck by them just as she was staggering to her feet. All three dolls became a tangled heap on the stage, whilst Kirakishou casually discarded the shears and cane she still held.

"That so does," she said, smirking. She extended a hand towards Jun and within seconds a mass of writhing white rose vines curled up from the stage and ensnared him. Tomoe too. They both struggled against the bindings, but it was no use, and were soon dragged to their knees. As all of this was happening the audience continued to watch, uncertain if this was all scripted or not. Some whispered, some searched frantically about. None knew what to do.

Kirakishou knew though. She lowered her hand and advanced towards Jun, her fingers wriggling for no reason other than the fact that she finally had real fingers for the first time in her life. This was going to be so much _fun_. She stopped suddenly and swayed to one side, just in time to avoid a black feather hurled like a dart towards her face. A moment later Suigintou landed on the stage, sword at the ready. Kirakishou beamed with joy at her.

"Big sis! I was hoping to see you. What do you think?" she held up her arms and turned them this way and that, as if showing them off, "I am a ghost no more. Now we can truly be together."

Suigintou scoffed at her little sister. "And this was turning out to be such a good night. Until you came along and started making a scene, I was quite enjoying myself for a change."

Kirakishou giggled and took a theatrical bow. "I like a grand entrance. How was mine? Did it meet with your approval?"

Suigintou levelled the point of her sword at her. "I promised I was finished with the Alice game, but in your case I think I'll make an exception." She flew forwards with a blinding burst of speed, sword swinging with enough force to decapitate Kirakishou entirely. Before the blow could even connect, Kirakishou made a complex gesture and Suigintou simply vanished in a haze of white light. Her sword remained and the seventh doll caught it deftly as its momentum carried it towards her. Shinku gasped at the sight, having finally untangled herself.

"Suigintou ... no ..."

"Fret not Shinku, I merely sent big sis away from here," Kirakishou confessed, twirling the sword around herself, "She can be so stubborn, I wouldn't want her to get hurt now, would I? Not when we both love her so ..."

Souseiseki retrieved her shears and leapt at Kirakishou, who defended herself with her new sword. There was a fierce flurry of blows, the hall ringing to the sound of metal on metal. Souseiseki's face was contorted with anger and frustration, whilst her opponent seemed to be having the time of her life. Kirakishou suddenly executed a dizzyingly complex move that involved sliding the blade of her sword through the handle of the shears and then pinning it to the floor. Before Souseiseki could even react to this, she reached across and touched her finger to her sister's forehead. At once Souseiseki's eyes closed and she crumbled to the floor, not moving.

"NO!" Suiseiseki rushed to her twin's side, dropping to the floor beside her to make sure she was unharmed. As Kirakishou giggled at the sight, Suiseiseki snapped her head up and glared furiously at her. "You! Damn you you rotten bastard! Why do you have to fight us? Why can't you ... why can't you just leave us alone!"

"I will," Kirakishou said simply, "Once you tell me."

"Tell you what?" Jun yelled, still struggling to free himself from the vines holding him down. "What do you want?"

"What do I ..." Kirakishou looked at him incredulous, as if he were insane even to ask, "What do any of us want? To become Alice of course. I have no wish to fight you, so tell me where the box is and I will leave you be."

"You are not worthy of becoming Alice," Shinku said, striding confidently towards her seemingly invincible sister, "Father told us never to harm humans, and yet you defy his wishes even as he watches you now."

"Watches me?" For the first time since she'd appeared, Kirakishou seemed uncertain. Shinku used this to get close to her and lay a stone cold punch that sent her sprawling to the floor. She then stood over her, fuming with barely restrained anger.

"I do not know what part Pandora's Box has to play in creating Alice, but I will not stand idly by and allow you to harm our sisters in your search for it."

Kirakishou lay on the floor, her long white hair covering most of her face. Her shoulders were shaking, and it took a moment for them to realise that she was laughing. Quietly at first, almost unheard, yet it grew in volume until they could all hear it. She stopped abruptly and brushed her hair from her face, glancing across at Jun. "I hardly think you are in a position to do anything when I have your precious Medium," Kirakishou countered. As soon as she said this the vines wrapped around Jun began to tighten. Several more coiled themselves around his neck and threatened to choke the life from him. He cried out in pain and alarm, prompting Shinku to turn to him.

"Jun!"

Kirakishou was standing behind Shinku in an instant. Her hand thrust forwards, striking the crimson doll in the back. Jun saw her eyes go wide with shock. Suiseiseki cried out. The moment stretched out for one horrifyingly long instant, and then Shinku dropped to the floor, like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Kirakishou stood triumphant, Shinku's Rosa Mystica in hand.

"NO! SHINKU!" Jun went berserk. He threw himself against the vines, tore at them, writhed and kicked. It did no good whatsoever. He couldn't free himself. He felt as if his heart had exploded in his chest. All he wanted to do at that moment was break free and rip Kirakishou limb from limb. Shatter her into a thousand pieces and take back Shinku's Rosa Mystica. Yet he could do nothing. It was more than he could bear. Could no one stand up to her?

As it happened, yes. Someone could, and did. Kirakishou's victory was cut short when a mass of strawberry vines rose up from the stage and snapped themselves around her arms and legs. A soft pink light washed across the stage, causing the vines that held Jun and Tomoe to dissolve away into nothing. The seventh doll seemed genuinely puzzled. Her questions were answered when her new foe floated down from above and hovered before her.

It was Hinaichigo.

"Hina won't let you hurt anyone anymore!" the little doll shouted emphatically. She was glowing brightly, infused with an enormous amount of power. Jun could feel it radiating from her like heat from the sun. He saw a dazzling pink light shining from her hand and realised at once what it was; a rose ring. Hina had entered into a covenant with someone. Not just anyone. Someone was giving her enough power to stand up to the strongest Rozen Maiden of them all.

Rozen marched down the isle in the middle of the audience, making straight for the stage. On his hand was a rose ring, also enveloped in a brilliant pink light. Kirakishou gaped at him as he came up on stage and stood beside the glowing Hinaichigo. He extended a hand towards Shinku's Rosa Mystica, which was floating in the air in front of Kirakishou. "I'll take that," he said as the radiant red gemstone sailed towards his grasp. He frowned at his seventh and final daughter, who did not recognise him at once owing to the age issue. "What a mess you've made. I would send you to your room, but I'm not sure you have one."

"Who are you?"

"That's a long story. For now, the play has finished and I think it's time we all went home. Do you think you could stop showing off for five minutes and help tidy up? Pretty soon the audience are going to realise this isn't part of the script. Could get complicated. Hina?" he glanced across at Hinaichigo, who nodded and lowered her hands. The strawberry vines holding the seventh doll released her. She stared at Rozen for a long moment as if trying to make up her mind, and then promptly vanished.

"Oh good," said Rozen, "She's gone off in a sulk instead ..." he rounded on Jun and presented Shinku's Rosa Mystica with care. When Jun took it he rubbed his eyes tiredly and sighed. "Having kids is tough work."

Jun surveyed the damage that Kirakishou had caused and was forced to agree. Just as he was wondering how they were going to explain all of this to everyone, someone in the audience stood and began clapping. A moment later another did likewise, and before he knew it they were getting a standing ovation. There were cheers and whoops as well. He wasn't sure if they knew just exactly what had happened, but apparently it had all looked very impressive, and that was enough.

"What happened?" Souseiseki asked groggily, sitting upright and blinking about at the cheering audience. Suiseiseki was so relieved that she was okay that she hugged her twin tightly rather than try to come up with a snarky answer. Tomoe approached Jun and Rozen and nodded towards the audience. Rozen shrugged in a 'sure, why not' fashion, and together they took a bow. Hinaichigo floated down onto the stage as her glowing aura faded, and she waved and cheered along with the crowd. Eventually someone offstage lowered the curtain once more, calling an end to perhaps the strangest performance in the history of school theatre.

* * *

Rozen: Ladies and ladies, I present to you - my hometown!

Jun: It's _creepy_.

Souseiseki: It's like a ghost town ...

Suiseiseki: Wahhh! W-what was that?

Rozen: Oh don't worry, that's just my little sister.

Shinku: She does not look well.

Rozen: Of course she doesn't; she's dead after all.

Jun: Yeah, and so will we be if we don't find that damn box!

Kanaria: No worries! Kana to the rescue!

Shinku: Next time on Rozen Maiden: Märchen ... the light of truth eludes us.


	34. EP9: The Morning After

Episode nine kicks off with a more subdued chapter after the chaos of the last one. I hope it's okay all the same. Oh, and if it seems as if Rozen sounds a bit modern for an eighteenth century boy, please keep in mind that this fic is English dubbed. In other words, chalk it up to Animus translation ;P (cookie to anyone who gets the reference)

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE 9

The Morning After

* * *

Suigintou was sitting on Megu's bed in brooding silence while the girl herself was downstairs getting breakfast. Megu's parents weren't an issue as they, like Jun's, tended to work a lot. Suigintou's case sat neatly upright beside the bookshelf, unused. She had once again slept with Megu in her bed, something her Medium seemed to ... like.

It felt very odd having a place to call home now. A proper place, a proper home. In the past she had either slept in a ruined old church or in her own N-Field. And that was when she'd bothered to sleep at all. Now though she not only slept but _lived_ in a _house_ with her Medium. Anyone would think she was civilized. Well, she was, it was just that looking back at her behaviour over the last ... hundred or so years, she hadn't been all that much. She'd seen such luxuries as signs of weakness, so driven by blind rage and hatred was she.

Now though? It was kind of ... nice, in a way. She was living like a doll, in a girls room, drinking tea whenever Megu managed to make a pot that was actually drinkable. In fact Suigintou would go so far as to say that she was starting to turn out a lot like Shinku.

Was that such a bad thing? No, not really. In the past she had lived only to fight, and Shinku had once said that to live is to fight. But Suigintou had come to realise, as had Shinku, that there was more to life than just fighting. There had to be. She felt guilty at having given up on the Alice game, especially now that Father had appeared. Having said that he seemed appalled at the very notion of the Alice game and couldn't understand why he would ever impose it upon the Maidens. When Suigintou had confessed her guilt to him at Sakurada's house, he had told her not to worry about it.

She didn't know what to think these days. She liked not fighting now, actually enjoyed seeing her sisters in a normal fashion without the weight of the Alice game hanging over them. But even though Father had told her not to worry, that was Father as a child speaking. Her real father, the adult who had actually made her, had told her that she was worthy of becoming Alice. He had told Shinku that he wanted the fifth doll to continue to strive to become Alice.

Then again he had also said that there was a way to become Alice without fighting. Supposedly this mysterious doll Pandora held the key to that. Suigintou wondered what she was like. The book had said that Father had owned her when he was just a boy. She'd heard him make off-handed references to her at Sakurada's, and even though he spoke disparagingly of her Suigintou got the impression that he was fond of her as well. Of a doll he hadn't made himself. Who had made Pandora then?

"Miss Angel?" Megu carefully pushed the door open with her foot and entered bearing a tea tray, "Oh, you're awake now, good. I made some tea, just like you showed me."

"I didn't ask for any tea," Suigintou said flatly, staring at the far wall with a distant look in her eyes. Megu set the tray down on the bed and sat opposite Suigintou.

"I know, but I wanted to make you some anyway. To say thank you for all your help."

"I haven't really done anything."

"That's not true; if it weren't for you teaching me I'd probably have landed myself back in hospital by now ..." there was a silence between the two of them for a while which Megu tried to fill, "I'm sorry I missed the play last night, but I'm glad you're okay as well. Are you going to visit that boy's house again today to see your father? Maybe I could come along as well. I'd quite like to meet him."

Suigintou said nothing, though she did turn around and stare gloomily at the tea tray Megu had prepared. By her estimation there was about a sixty-forty chance of it being awful. Worth the risk? She couldn't decide. Megu frowned and lowered her own cup before she'd taken her first sip.

"What's wrong Suigintou? Is anything the matter?"

Suigintou sighed heavily. Yes, something was the matter. Last night when she'd confronted Kirakishou, the seventh doll had transported her to the N-Field in order to remove her from the battle. Kirakishou seemed to have some kind of perverse love for her and wanted to avoid fighting her. Suigintou couldn't decide whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, but either way she had run into a familiar face during her struggle to get back that night. If you could call it a face.

Laplace no Ma had appeared and delayed her from returning to the scene of the battle. Why he felt the need to get involved was anyone's guess, but this time he had been rather less cryptic than usual. In fact he'd been rather blunt and upfront. Suigintou could still remember his words and would have preferred more of his nonsensical riddles than what he'd given her instead.

This was the final era for the Rozen Maidens, he'd said. The end was near and Alice would soon be born.

That didn't necessarily mean that he was right, however from what little Suigintou knew of the demon he _did_ seem to act as a sort of referee for the Alice game, deciding when the dolls could fight and when they could not. In the past he had declared the game at a halt until a new era had come about. Then again, he had also declared the 'true' Alice game to have begun when Barasuishou had appeared, despite the fact that the Enju doll was an impostor and the real seventh doll still slept deep within the N-Field.

As usual he'd left her with more questions than answers, and no amount of certainty at all. One of these days, she'd promised herself, she was going to stuff the oversized rabbit into that top hat of his and give it to a magician as a gift.

"No," she said, "Nothing," she poured herself some tea and risked taking a sip. It wasn't half bad at that, and she actually deigned to smile a little to let her Medium know it. Megu giggled.

"You have a very beautiful smile, Suigintou. You should show it more often."

Suigintou closed her eyes and turned her head slightly to one side. "Perhaps I will," she said, and smiled some more.

* * *

Meanwhile at the Sakurada house, Jun was proving that he was not quite the early riser that Megu was. In his defence it _was_ the weekend, and he'd had a very busy night. As such he was completely flaked out in bed and didn't stir even as the morning light streamed in through his currently intact window. What was perhaps more remarkable was the fact that he didn't wake even though there was someone else in his bed with him, snuggled up to him as if he were a cuddly teddy bear.

"I am so at a loss for words," Suiseiseki contradicted herself. She and her fellow dolls were floating in their cases above Jun's bed and peering down at the slumbering pair with varying mixed feelings.

"They look so peaceful together ..." Souseiseki observed.

"Do you think anything happened between them?" Suiseiseki addressed the question to Shinku, who was floating beside her.

"Such as?"

"I don't know - what do humans normally do in bed together?"

"Sleep?" Souseiseki suggested. Her twin shot her an irate look and shook her head.

"No, not just that. They do ... stuff."

"Stuff?" Shinku regarded her oddly. Suiseiseki let out a frustrated moan.

"They do gooey mushy touchy feely stuff. You know!"

"I certainly do not," Shinku insisted firmly, wanting to make it perfectly clear that she was not even remotely familiar with 'gooey touchy' human bed habits.

"It's a shame Suigintou isn't here," Souseiseki lamented, watching the two humans below, "I'm sure she'd know all about this."

Suiseiseki stared at her as if she'd lost her mind. "You can't be serious? If Suigintou saw this she'd chop the puny runt into so many pieces that not even Shinku could Humpty Dumpty him together again," pause, "I'll go get her!"

Before she could move the bedroom door opened and Nori stuck her head cautiously through. "Jun-kun, are you up yet? Breakfast is ready and I-" she stopped abruptly as she saw the bed and the floating doll cases surrounding it. The Rozen Maidens watched her as she gaped at the sight of her sleeping brother, who still did not wake as she crept into the room and peered down at him.

"This wasn't us, we didn't do this," Suiseiseki assured her, not wanting to take any possible blame for the situation. Nori however wasn't listening to her, as she was too busy squeeing and clasping her hands together in delight.

"Ohhh! Aren't they so _cute_ together? I wish I had a camera with me."

"Oh!" Suiseiseki sat bolt upright in her case as a memory nudged her for attention. "That big forehead Kanaria left one behind when she was here last," she said, swooping across the room to snatch the tiny digital device from the shelf where Hinaichigo had previously kept her things. She snapped a quick shot of Jun and giggled mischievously to herself. "This is so totally going on the runt's blog ..."

* * *

Nori and the dolls were downstairs eating breakfast when they heard Jun's scream. It echoed through the house loud enough to make Souseiseki drop her spoon. A few minutes later Jun stormed into the living room, his face livid. Rozen followed him a moment later, stretching and yawning. He was wearing an old pair of pink pyjamas that Nori had loaned him for the night.

"What," Jun breathed heavily and pointed, "was _he_ doing in my _bed?_"

"Having the best nights sleep in _ages_," Rozen answered rather unhelpfully for him. Suiseiseki exploded with laughter and pounded the table, while Nori gave him a suggestively sly grin.

"Did you sleep well too, Jun-kun?"

Jun looked as if he were about to hyperventilate and faint, whilst Rozen calmly strode past him and sat down to breakfast. It took him a moment to realise that everyone was staring at him, and he blinked a set of bleary green eyes back at them.

"What? Why are you all looking at me like that?"

Shinku turned her icy blue gaze towards Jun, who very nearly melted into a puddle of water under its scrutiny. "Well Jun, what have you to say for yourself?"

"I ... what ... wait ... he ..." he made a sort of half-strangling half-choking sound, his face bright crimson from a potent combination of rage and humiliation. Shinku turned her nose up at him and returned to her breakfast.

"I see," she said haughtily, "Well I have to say that sleeping with a lady's father is _not_ the best way to further a relationship with her."

"I wasn't! We didn't! AARRGHHH!" Jun screamed and clutched at his hair, "My life has turned into a living hell! It's not fair! It's not fair at all ..." he sagged like a sopping wet tree and whimpered like a kicked dog. Rozen watched this display in astonishment and smiled sheepishly.

"Umm, look, sorry. I didn't mean to cause any trouble, it's just that I'm so used to sleeping with my sister that I couldn't get to sleep by myself ..." he trailed off as he realised that everyone was staring at him again, this time with wider eyes than before. He cleared his throat. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"You sleep with your sister?" Nori asked, the only one in the room who was able to speak at that point. Rozen shrugged.

"Well, yeah. Don't you and your brother ever sleep together?"

Nori turned a disturbingly hopeful look on Jun which did nothing to help his already battered and bruised psyche. He stuck out his arms and clenched his hands so tightly they shook.

"NOOOOO!" he answered for her, wanting to make that as clear as possible. Nori looked crestfallen but perked up a moment later as she recalled something.

"We used to," she said, "When we were very little. Sometimes I would have bad dreams and Jun would let me sleep with him," she pressed her clasped hands against the side of her face and stared off into space with a happy faraway look in her eyes, "We would curl up together in each others arms, and I remember that Jun-kun was so soft it was like snuggling up to the very best teddy bear in the whole world!"

"NORI!" Jun yelled her name in place of outright telling her to shut up. She returned to the present as Suiseiseki began pounding the _floor_, having fallen out of her chair at this point.

"Well it's true!" she wailed, "I miss that! You never even let me hug you anymore," she started to pout as Suiseiseki began rolling on the floor, her laughter putting Jun past red-faced embarrassment and into the blue-faced state of a self-induced coma. He snapped out of it and snapped at her as he finally sat himself down opposite Shinku.

"And what the heck are you laughing at? At least I never _proposed_ to my sister!"

"Oh Jun ..." Souseiseki hid her face behind her hands whilst Suiseiseki jumped up and glared sharp pointy daggers at him.

"And just what is _that_ supposed to mean?" she snarled.

"You guys want to get married?" said Rozen, startled.

"Just that if there was ever any doubt at what a rotten twisted little doll you are, wanting to marry your own _twin_ ought to burry that doubt under fifty feet of concrete you freak!"

The room's inhabitants held their collective breaths as they waited for the little Gardener doll to explode with rage at Jun and begin kicking, biting or even stabbing him with the breakfast cutlery. And she looked ready to do just that, standing there trembling with barely restrained anger. Instead of lashing out however, Suiseiseki screwed her eyes shut to try and force back the tears that splashed onto her reddened cheeks. She pressed her hands to her eyes to stem the tide and ran blindly out of the living room, the choking sobs that issued from her the only sound anyone heard at that moment.

Jun watched her storm off, feeling vaguely guilty and ashamed as he did so. When he turned back to the breakfast table it was to find Souseiseki glaring at him with a look so cold not even Suigintou could have matched its iciness at the height of her hostility.

"Please excuse me father," she said with unearthly calmness, before swiftly departing from the table and then the room. Nori scowled at Jun and pointed fiercely at the living room door the twins had just exited through.

"You should go and apologise, right now!"

"Why?" Jun demanded, knowing full well the answer to that but stubbornly refusing to concede the point, "All I did was call her out on something any sane person would agree was _wrong_. I mean c'mon," he turned to Rozen for support, "Don't tell me you don't find that just a little bit _icky?_ They're your daughters for crying out loud."

Rozen found himself the centre of attention as both Nori and Jun watched him with fierce expectation of his response, while Shinku observed him out of simple curiosity. He stared back at them for a long moment and then frowned. "You're asking me?" he said at last, "The person who invents the Alice game? You know, the one where I command my seven daughters to battle each other for the right to be my _dream_ girl? If any of them have incestuous tendencies then I only have myself to blame."

Jun crossed his arms and scowled at nothing in particular. He'd been harsher with Suiseiseki than he should have, but he'd only just got up, and the toll of every embarrassing thing he'd had to deal with lately had pushed him to snap at her in exactly the way that would hurt the most.

"In case you are wondering Jun, Kohaku left earlier this morning," said Shinku. She produced a folded up piece of paper as if by magic and placed it on the table, before sliding it towards him, "She took Barasuishou's case and left this note behind."

Still avoiding his sister's disapproving glower, Jun reached across the table, retrieved the note and unfolded it. Scrawled inside in tiny writing was a message from the missing Enju doll.

_Dear Master Jun,_

_I thank you deeply for bringing me back from the darkness that held me. You showed me kindness despite my earlier behaviour towards you and your friends, and I can never thank you enough for all you have done. I would like nothing more than to stay and enjoy your company and the company of the other dolls, however I suspect that events concerning Alice and the Rozen Maidens are approaching a conclusion, and that I would only be a distraction._

_To tell the truth, it also pains me to look at you. You remind me so much of Eiko. I still love her, and I feel that love whenever I see you. I fear that if I remained I would only come between you and Shinku, and I sincerely do not want that. It gladdens my heart to see such love between the two of you, even though I am envious of it as well._

_Before I go there is one thing I can do to help. In my father's shop you will find a potted plant. The plant is a trimming taken from the tree at the heart of Lebensbaum, the Rozen Maiden's first home and the place you need to journey to now to find Pandora's Box. Give the plant to the Gardener twins and they will surely be able to use it to take you there._

_Farewell Jun Sakurada. I go now to search for my father, firm in the belief that he still lives. I hope to meet you again someday, and I wish you luck in the coming days. You will need it._

_With fond love_

_Kohaku_


	35. EP9: On Reflection

Another filler chapter were not much happens. I had intended to have more done by this chapter but it didn't work out that way. Well if I have to I'll just make episode nine longer than four parts. Expect more frequent updates by new year. Please enjoy!

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE NINE

On Reflection

* * *

Kirakishou sat atop her case, which was itself resting atop a crystal altar in the middle of a crystal room, inside her crystal castle. She hugged her knees tightly to her chest and drew comfort from the warmth of the substantial body she now finally possessed. She'd made a fool of herself! In front of Father no less! Oh yes, it was him sure enough. Truly he transcended time, and had come to them whilst still just a boy. Yet it was him. Father. And she'd run away from him like a frightened little girl, which in some ways she was.

He had given her the Pandora key because he didn't want her to fight her sisters. He'd given her a means to become Alice without playing the Alice game. And she'd gone right ahead and fought them in front of him regardless. She tried to tell herself that he'd be impressed with the ease with which she defeated her fellow Rozen Maidens, but the truth was he hadn't sounded very happy when he'd confronted her. No, he'd scolded her instead. _Her!_ The greatest of his creations, told off like a spoiled little brat.

So here she was, sitting alone inside her N-Field. Always alone. She had tried to befriend Suigintou by fixing her broken Medium but her efforts only seemed to have driven her big sis further away from her. And she'd hardly made herself loved with her other sisters, had she? She had no Medium of her own either. All alone in a sparkling palace.

Not exactly ...

"Pitiful," said an all too familiar voice, "You are so pitiful."

Kirakishou looked up and saw Barasuishou's face reflected back at her from every crystal facet in the room. The reflection of her twin was wearing the rose eye patch once more, and there was no compassion in that single merciless yellow eye. The Enju doll smirked at her.

"You have no friends. No Medium. Your sisters do not want to see you. Your father is disappointed with you. You are nothing."

Kirakishou's own eye narrowed. "I am Kirakishou. The seventh Rozen Maiden doll."

"And that is all that you are. Nothing less ... and nothing more."

Kirakishou said nothing, because she couldn't argue with the sentiment. In fact she agreed with it, loathe though she was to do so. She wanted to be more though. Wanted to be the perfect girl. Wanted to be loved. Why did everyone hate her then?

"Because you are insane," Barasuishou answered for her, knowing her every thought as if they were her own, "You cannot tell right from wrong. You treat others as objects. The love you carry has been twisted and deformed like a distorted reflection, until you have forgotten how it should truly look."

Kirakishou tried to look away from that accusing cyclops stare, but everywhere she turned her twin's face was reflected back at her. She scowled at the plain truth Barasuishou gave to her. "As if you were any better," she countered feebly.

"I was becoming something better. But then you wanted what I had and you did not. And you took without my consent. And now I _am_ you. Tell me, was it worth it?"

No, Kirakishou thought, because I am still alone.

* * *

Jun hadn't been to the Enju Doll shop since the events last year drew him there. It had sat in silence ever since, its doors locked, its shadowy interior still filled with the lifelike dolls made by its former owner. He had wondered how they would get in there this time but was surprised to find that the front door was ajar. He hesitated for a moment to consider just why this might be the case, but Rozen was so enthralled by the sight of the dolls that he strode right in without a moments pause.

"Amazing," he breathed, gazing about at the shelves and cabinets. Jun followed him in as he stopped and leaned on his knees to get a good look at one of the dolls, his green eyes ablaze with wonder. "Aren't they marvellous? The craftsmanship is incredible ..."

"Well it was your apprentice that made them."

Rozen stood and stared at Jun. "_I_ have an _apprentice?_"

"Huh, yeah, and not a very nice one either. I'd warn you not to waste your time with him if it weren't likely to cause a time paradox or something."

"Is someone there?" a voice called out from the back. Jun almost jumped with fright but frowned instead as the sound of the voice struck a chord with his memory. Sure enough a moment later Mitsu Kusabue emerged from the back of the shop, Kanaria riding on her shoulders like a child. They all stared at each other for a long moment before Mitsu's face lit up with joy and she squealed with delight.

"Jun-jun! I was hoping to run into you."

"Miss Micchan? What are you doing here?"

"I own the place! Can you believe it? I used to come here often to buy things for Kanaria, but it closed down last year. Kanaria told me how Barasuishou felt sad for all the dolls here, so I looked into buying the place up."

Kanaria laughed and extended her hands out sideways. "It was real easy, y'know? Since that Enju guy vanished without a trace we were able to acquire the shop for next to nothing, dolls and all. Pretty cool, right?"

"I guess," said Jun, rubbing the side of his head. He really shouldn't be surprised, after all Mitsu was the most doll obsessed person he knew of next to Rozen. Owning a doll shop was pretty much a logical conclusion for her. But then ... "What are you going to do with the place? I mean don't you already have a job?"

Mitsu reached up and removed Kanaria from around her neck, before carefully placing the doll on the counter top. "I was thinking of opening it up at the weekends, maybe hiring someone part-time to deal with the customers. Interested?"

In working at a doll shop? Ha! Well it would certainly fit with his life so far, that much was true. He shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "Maybe, I'll let you know."

Mitsu finally noticed Rozen standing by his side, who had kept silent throughout the exchange. She pressed her hands together and beamed at him. "Well Jun-jun, aren't you going to introduce me to your cute friend?"

Jun opened his mouth to do just that but was stopped by Rozen himself, who grabbed a hold of Jun's arm and grinned mischievously back at Mitsu. "I'm Jun's new boyfriend! Pleased to meet you!"

To say that Jun was shocked would be the understatement of the entire of human history. He felt as if someone had just slapped him across the face with a wet fish. While Mitsu stared gob smacked at them, Jun turned and glared at Rozen as if he'd gone insane, a notion he'd strongly suspected for some time now.

"W-what? Why the hell did you tell her that?"

Rozen actually gave him a hurt, wide-eyed look as if to suggest that Jun had said something insensitive. "Did last night mean _nothing_ to you?" he pouted. _Pouted_. Boys should not pout, of that Jun was certain.

"Wow, I had no idea ..." said Kanaria in a hushed voice. Jun wanted to yank his arm away from the demented dollmaker and then quite probably punch him for good measure, but the sheer audacity of it all had him rooted to the spot, unable to do anything but gape in horror. Mitsu meanwhile gave the pair a look most people usually reserved for kittens and puppies.

"I _knew_ it! I mean when I saw how much you enjoyed doing that photo shoot I kind of had a feeling you might be that way Jun-jun, but when you called me up and said you wanted to do _more_ I just _knew!_"

"Hold on, he is _not_ my boyfriend!" Jun insisted emphatically, "I'm not ... I am _not_ into guys, okay? He's just joking around!"

Mitsu nodded in understanding and wiped a joyful tear from under one eye. "It's alright Jun, you don't have to explain to me. Just know that you have my full support when you eventually decide to come out of the closet."

Jun groaned loudly and pressed a hand to his face as if that would somehow make all of this go away. When it (inevitably) didn't, he adjusted his glasses and glowered at Rozen. "I hate you."

"Thin line, Jun, thin line," Rozen released his arm and patted him on the shoulder, before turning his attention to Kanaria. He approached the counter and shamelessly stroked the doll's grey hair with a wide smile on his face. "Well aren't you just adorable?"

Kanaria growled and shook his hand off. "Hey hey, hands off the merchandise! Didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to touch a lady without her permission?"

"Uh, Kanaria, do you know who you're talking to?" said Jun. Rozen held up his hands to indicate that he meant no harm.

"No, she's quite right. I apologise profusely Miss Kanaria. I was simply so overcome by your cuteness that all thought of etiquette completely escaped me."

Kanaria seemed suitably flattered by this admission that her initial anger quickly faded away. She put her hands on her hips and turned her head slightly, nose in the air and eyes briefly closed. "Well I'll forgive you this time, since you obviously have impeccable taste," her green eyes flicked open and she jabbed a finger at her father, "Just watch it, y'hear? I got my eye on you mister."

Remembering what they had actually come for in the first place, Jun asked Mitsu about the potted plant Kohaku had mentioned in her letter. Sure enough she had found a plant whilst checking the place over, and rummaged around in the back of the shop for a few minutes before bringing it out. She set it down on the counter and Jun picked it up and examined it. Not being an expert on plant life, all he could tell of it was that it was a trimming taken from a tree. It was still healthy and vibrant, its leaves a vivid shade of green. It reminded him of Suiseiseki, prompting a guilty grimace of recollection at how he'd spoken to her at breakfast. Getting the help of that particular doll and her twin sister might just prove a bit tricky ...

* * *

"Suiseiseki, calm down!" Souseiseki urged, before hastily ducking from one of Jun's school books hurled across the room.

"How can I possibly remain calm? Did you not hear what he called us?" the gardener doll yanked the sheets and pillows off Jun's bed and then began jumping up on down on them in outrage. She'd been at it for quite some time, as attested by the disastrous state of the room in general. The window was broken, as was the computer monitor. Books were scattered everywhere, and she'd tipped the waste basket over. Judging by the enthusiasm with which she now ripped open Jun's pillows she was only just getting started. "Freak!" she screamed, "The only freak around here is that puny moronic doll-loving cross-dressing four-eyed RUNT!"

"I'm sure he didn't really mean it Suiseiseki," her twin desperately tried to placate her. She'd been just as hurt by Jun's outburst at breakfast but was obviously coping a lot better. Or at least a lot quieter. Suiseiseki responded by ripping the computer mouse out of its port and then swinging it around the room like a morning star.

"Oh he so totally meant it!" she growled. She released the mouse, sending it flying into the wall with such force that it split open, revealing its electronic innards. Suiseiseki stood in the middle of the room breathing heavily, hands clenched tight, shoulders trembling with barely suppressed rage. The only reason she'd even stopped was because she was searching for something breakable that she hadn't yet broken.

"My, what a delightful little tantrum," said Suigintou. She was floating just outside the broken window, examining the chaotic scene within with a faintly bemused expression. Her lavender eyes found the shaking shape of her sister and she smirked. "You always did have a temper Suiseiseki."

"Go away!" she snapped in return. Souseiseki was a bit more gracious.

"What brings you here Suigintou?" she asked pleasantly, or perhaps simply eager to finally have someone to distract Suiseiseki from her destructive rampage. Suigintou flew in through the empty window frame and settled down on the floor beside her.

"To see father, of course. Is he here?"

"No, he went out a while ago with Jun. He should be back soon though, so if you'd like to stay ..." what she didn't add was: _and help calm our violent sister down_. Suigintou seemed to pick up on her unspoken words all the same and regarded Suiseiseki.

"I think I shall. Dear me, what a frightful mess you've made Suiseiseki. Dare I ask if there's a reason for all this mayhem?"

"I'll give you one guess!" she snarled, before folding her arms and turning her back on her two sisters. Suigintou chuckled.

"Jun then. I might have known. Well whatever he has done you have my deepest sympathies," she turned to the currently more level-headed twin and crossed her own arms as well, "So what did that simpering fool do this time?"

Souseiseki hesitated, suddenly embarrassed. Her cheeks flushed red and she rubbed the back of her neck as she nervously sought for some way to phrase her response. Suigintou noticed all of this and peered forwards to examine her closely. "What's this now? Why Souseiseki, I do declare that you are blushing. I must say I'm surprised; I didn't think you had it in you."

Souseiseki exhaled sharply and turned away so she wouldn't have to look her sister in the eye when she spoke. "It's just that ... Suiseiseki and I have been talking about how maybe we'd quite like to ... to ... someday ..."

"Yes, I'm listening," Suigintou purred teasingly. Suiseiseki decided to spare her twin the trouble of trying to spit it out and shouted it out for her.

"Married! Okay? We want to get married! And for that the puny runt called me a twisted little freak!" she stamped her foot impetuously, "I mean talk about the pot calling the kettle, right? He only went and fell in love with Shinku! They're practically different _species!_ At least Souseiseki and I are both dolls!"

Suigintou was too busy laughing to give an answer to that. She covered her mouth with her hand and struggled to suppress the gales of laughter, shoulders shaking with the effort. Suiseiseki glared at her with clenched teeth and demanded to know what was so funny.

"You have to ask? What a simply _absurd_ notion! As if the two of you could ever get married ..."

"Why not?" Suiseiseki demanded, flailing her arms, "We both love each other! I so don't care that we're sisters! And besides, we all know you feel the same way about Shinku, so don't even start okay?"

Suigintou held up a hand to stop her and shook her head. "It's not that; you can't get married because you're both _dolls_, stupid. Just who exactly do you expect to actually marry you? Anyone legally capable would be just as likely to run a mile in terror at being approached by a pair of walking talking dolls. Marriage is a human affair, and has no business with the likes of us Rozen Maiden."

"That didn't stop Shinku from trying to marry Kunkun," Souseiseki pointed out, to which Suigintou grimaced at the memory.

"Don't remind me; that is one day I would much rather forget _ever_ happened." She sighed heavily and closed her eyes for a brief moment. "Suiseiseki, humans will never understand the bond we share with one another. They insist on imposing their own preconceived standards upon us, even though we are not ourselves human. They have the same problem even when dealing with others of their kind. All you can do is shake your head at their blind ignorance and continue safe in the knowledge that we are far superior to them in every way, and that their foolish misguided views are of no real importance."

Suiseiseki gaped in astonishment at her little speech. If nothing else Suigintou had succeeded in calming the doll down at least. Souseiseki took a moment to survey the mess her twin had created during her tantrum and gave a subdued groan of despair.

"Jun is going to be very angry when he sees this ..."

Suigintou scoffed and stirred one of his upturned schoolbooks with the toe of her shoe. "Don't worry yourself so. If he gives you any trouble then I shall simply pin him to the wall and use him as a human dartboard for our amusement."

"You know, I'm actually starting to like you more and more every time you visit," Suiseiseki said, sounding a touch worried by that revelation. Suigintou flashed her a disarming smile.

"Well of course, I'm your big sister after all. Now," she glanced about with disdain at the brutally savaged bedroom before pressing her hands together, "Why don't we all go downstairs and have a nice cup of tea while we wait for Father to get back. You can show me more of this Detective Kunkun show Shinku is so enamoured with; I think I'm actually starting to see the appeal of it."


	36. EP9: Homecoming

Update! And I hope you all had a great Christmas and have a Happy New Year as well!

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE NINE

Homecoming

* * *

As it happened Jun was _not_ happy when he returned home and found the state his room was in. Nevertheless Suiseiseki's temper tantrum may have been a blessing in disguise, as the other dolls used the incident to suggest a sort of truce; Suiseiseki would help them get to Lebensbaum and in return Jun would agree not to retaliate for her wrecking his room. It started to go well until negotiations broke down after the gardener doll demanded an apology and Jun flatly refused.

"Like hell I am gonna apologise! After what that demonic doll did to my room, _she_ should be the one apologising to me!"

Suiseiseki snarled at him and stamped her foot. "As if I would apologise to such a puny little runt, you intolerant bigoted buffoon, you!"

"Suiseiseki ..." her twin urged feebly, knowing that she should try and settle this dispute but also aware that both Suiseiseki and Jun could be incredibly stubborn at times. Jun turned to Rozen and gestured angrily at Suiseiseki.

"Your daughter totalled my bedroom, are you just gonna stand there and let her get away with that?"

"Umm ... what exactly do you suggest I do about it?" Rozen asked uneasily. Jun groaned at his sudden obtuseness.

"You're her father! Discipline her or something!"

Rozen looked warily from Jun to the doll in question, whose mismatching eyes went wide, hand raised to her mouth as if ready to stifle any sound that emerged. All trace of anger completely gone now, Suiseiseki took an involuntary step back as Rozen advanced towards her and picked her up. He held her out in front of him and stared into her frightened eyes, uncertainty clouding his own. The entire living room held its breath as everyone watched and waited for him to do something.

"It's no good," he blurted out, turning the doll around and pulling her close in an embrace. He whirled around to face Jun and shook his head. "I can't do it. You said it yourself; she's my daughter. I don't want to hurt her!"

Jun sagged. "Oh man, you gotta be kidding me. Don't be fooled by her looks, that doll is a _menace_. She's outta control, Rozen; if you can't get her to behave then no one can!"

"Oh come on," Rozen squeezed Suiseiseki affectionately, "She's hardly that. You just hurt her feelings," he said. Jun glared at the trouble-making doll, who stuck her tongue out at him in response. "I think you should _both_ apologise and make up. Surely that's for the best. Suiseiseki, tell Jun you're sorry."

Both boy and doll regarded each other in a way that said they would sooner pull their own teeth out than apologise, but there didn't seem to be any alternative. Still riding on a cloud of smugness over the fact that her father hadn't disciplined her, Suiseiseki put on an infuriating smile and said that she was sorry.

"Now you, Jun," Rozen urged. Jun ground his teeth together, but under the combined stares of Rozen and four dolls he finally caved in and admitted defeat.

"Fine then. Suiseiseki - I'm sorry."

"What was that?" Suiseiseki cupped a hand to one ear and tilted her head slightly in a mocking fashion, "I didn't quite catch that."

"I said I'm sorry! I'm sorry I called you a twisted little freak for wanting to marry your own twin sister! There! Are you satisfied?"

"No," she said, "but it'll do for now."

"Good," said Rozen. He held the gardener doll out towards Jun. "Now kiss and make up."

"WHAT?" they both exclaimed simultaneously. Rozen took a step closer to Jun and all but thrust Suiseiseki at him.

"There's way too much negative energy between the two of you, and seeing as how a covenant exists that is just not a good thing," Rozen explained to both startled and embarrassed parties, "One little kiss will go a long way towards defusing that."

Suiseiseki said nothing, she simply stared at Jun and blushed, all previous hostility gone in the face of the mere prospect of having to kiss him. Jun took a step back, hands raised defensively, but Rozen advanced mercilessly. Jun swallowed.

"L-like hell I'm gonna kiss her! She's a doll for crying out loud!"

"Oh?" Shinku spoke up finally, "And what is that supposed to mean?" she demanded, her voice lowering the ambient temperature in the room by several degrees.

"Yes Jun," Suigintou chimed in, ever eager to twist the knife in the back of the human boy she was jealous of, "What's wrong with kissing a doll?"

Jun turned his attention guiltily back towards the doll in Rozen's hands, only a short distance from his face. Suiseiseki's cheeks were visibly reddened though she was no longer looking at him. Rather, her eyes were downcast, as if she'd expected his reaction and seemed somewhat disappointed. Rozen and the rest of the dolls however were still watching him expectantly, and he knew, just _knew_ that there was only one thing he could do unless he wanted to alienate everyone in the room. And he really didn't.

Swallowing his embarrassment once more, Jun steeled himself, leaned forwards and planted a kiss on Suiseiseki's cheek. He pulled away hastily as her eyes widened with shock and she gasped. Rozen nodded. "Good enough." He lowered Suiseiseki down onto the ground and stood back, while Jun pointedly avoided making eye contact with anyone in the room. Far from being jealous, Shinku actually seemed pleased. She strolled towards the living room door with just the barest hint of a smile showing on her face.

"I shall go up and repair the damage to your bedroom," she announced as she passed Jun. Rozen picked up the potted plant from the coffee table and headed for the glass doors leading to the garden, Suigintou floating after him. Souseiseki put a comforting hand on her twin's shoulder.

"We'll be outside when you're ready," she said quietly, and then left to follow Rozen. Pretty soon Jun and Suiseiseki were the only two still in the living room. They both stood in a kind of awkward silence, neither speaking or making eye contact. Suiseiseki clenched her hands for several long moments before finally breaking the silence.

"You ... you should apologise to Souseiseki as well," she said, her voice more level and quiet than normal, "You hurt her feelings too after all."

"I ... I will," Jun assured her, shuffling his feet. He felt as if he should say something further in the renewed silence that followed. "Suiseiseki ..."

"Yes Jun?"

"I'm sorry ... about what I said earlier. I didn't mean to snap at you like that."

Suiseiseki bobbed her head, her cheeks now sporting a healthy rosy tint. "That's okay Jun," she paused for a moment before adding; "I'm sorry I trashed your room."

"That's okay, I kinda had it coming after the things I said."

Suiseiseki giggled, her gaze directed at the floor in front of her. "I so totally agree there. Umm ... Jun?"

"Yeah?"

"Could I ask you a favour?" she said. He frowned and regarded her curiously, and she finally looked up from the floor and made furtive eye contact with him. "Pick me up," she half-asked, half-instructed. He did as she bid and held the doll before him.

"What is it?"

"Umm, well ..." Suiseiseki hesitated, uncertainty clouding her features. "I was wondering ... do you think maybe you could ... kiss me again? Like you did before. Umm."

"Huh? Why?"

Suiseiseki moaned, having been asked the one question she didn't want to be asked at that very moment. "Will you?" she pressed, the colour of her face now matching one of her eyes very nicely. Jun sighed.

"Fine, but don't tell anyone, okay?" he pulled her close and kissed her on the cheek once more, and the doll squeezed her eyes shut tight when he did. Jun carefully set her down and took a step back, while Suiseiseki opened her eyes and gently touched her hand to her face. She looked up at Jun and smiled a genuine smile of warmth and affection that was seldom seen on her, especially when directed at him.

"Thank you, Jun."

Embarrassed, Jun rubbed the side of his head and smiled nervously back at her. "Uh, yeah, sure." He watched her go, for once not throwing a cutting remark or insult his way, and wondered what all of that was about. One thing was for sure, Rozen was right; it had at least helped defuse some of the negative feelings between them. And for all his insistence that Suiseiseki was an evil menace, he knew that she had a softer side she did occasionally let show through.

If only she was like that more often, he lamented.

* * *

Outside in the garden, Suiseiseki poured water from her watering can onto the patio until it created a small pool. Souseiseki clipped a tiny piece of the plant using the shears and then dropped it into the pool of water her twin had made. The gardeners then summoned their artificial spirits Lempicka and Sui Dream, which circled the pool for a moment before diving into it. It shimmered and glowed brightly with a bluish white light.

"There, that should do it," Souseiseki announced. Rozen knelt before the glowing pool and dipped the tip of his finger in it, creating ripples of light. He glanced up at the assembled dolls and smiled.

"Well, are you ready? I imagine it's been a while since you guys have been home." He stood and bowed theatrically. "Ladies first, of course."

"Jun?" Suiseiseki glanced up at her Medium. He frowned and looked down at her.

"Wh-hey! I am _not_ a lady!"

Suiseiseki sniggered. "Well if you'd like, I'm sure Souseiseki could fix that," she said. Jun glanced across at her twin who innocently snipped the gardening shears together. He gulped. Suigintou finally lost patience waiting on them and dived right into the open portal. Shinku joined her a moment later, followed by the twins. Jun and Rozen were left standing around the pool together. Rozen grinned at him and then hopped into the glowing puddle shouting 'Geronimo!' as he went. Jun stared down at the portal and grimaced.

"I hate these things," he muttered, "I always land on my head ..."

He jumped.

And yes, he did land on his head. He sat up and groaned, rubbing the fresh bruise whilst searching for his glasses. Shinku handed them to him and he slipped them on, blinking about at their new surroundings. He got to his feet and gaped. "You _live_ here?" he asked Rozen.

"Well," Rozen answered slowly, "it's gone downhill a little since the last time I saw it ..."

Lebensbaum. Fabled birthplace of the Rozen Maiden dolls. It looked like the kingdom from the Sleeping Beauty fairytale, which was to say the kind of place you get when everyone lies down for a nap for a couple of hundred years and no one tends to anything. The buildings were old and worn, with overgrown ivy and weeds everywhere. The streets were empty, not a soul in sight, not even a bird. Everything was deathly quiet, save for the occasional chilly gust of wind. It was cold and grey, the sky clouded over and ready to rain at any minute from the look of it. Jun could see thick cobwebs through the grimy windows of the nearby buildings, so presumably there were at least spiders here. Then again, perhaps they were just obligatory for lifeless ghost towns like this. There was a clock tower, which had stopped at six o'clock.

"Oh, wow!" Suiseiseki was backing away from Jun and looking up at something that must be towering behind him. He spun around and found himself face to face with perhaps the only living thing here save for themselves. It was a tree. Actually _tree_ didn't quite do it justice, and was akin to calling a fire hot. It was the largest tree Jun had ever seen in his life outside of television shows of jungles and rainforests, and managed to look incredibly ancient yet vibrant at both the same time. It was sitting in what must be the main square of the town, which was where they were now.

"Impressive, huh?" said Rozen, standing at Jun's side and joining him in gazing up at the thing. "This is one very special tree."

"You don't say?"

"I do! The sap from it is extremely useful in alchemy. You can live forever with the help of this tree and a few other ingredients. Of course if you're not careful you could end up turning yourself into ... err, something. Not that I ever did, mind."

Rozen led them all through the town, which Jun found to be eerily familiar. It took him a moment to place where he'd seen it before; Suigintou's N-Field. The ruined streets of her Field were a kind of semi-recreation of Lebensbaum. There were fleur-de-lis decorating several of the buildings and monuments as well. After about ten minutes of trudging through dreary, empty streets, they finally reached his home. Again Jun was overcome by a sense of deja-vu. In this case it was _Shinku's_ N-Field which had served as the source of his familiarity, for the house and garden in her Field were almost the same as the one here.

"Geez, you travel a couple of hundred years into the future and look what happens to the place," Rozen observed dryly. Despite the similarity to Shinku's N-Field, _this_ estate was as run-down and unattended as everywhere else in this ghost town. The once thriving gardens were simply overrun with weeds, and there was not a touch of colour outside of grey and dull green to be found. The garden steps were covered with dust and debris, and the house itself practically screamed 'haunted'.

There was a deep rumble of thunder in the distance and the group decided that regardless of the state of the building, being inside out of the rain was far more preferable to being soaked by the inevitable downpour the gloomy sky was threatening them with. The front door wasn't locked and Jun didn't think it even could be judging by the rust on the thing. It creaked ominously, admitting them into a dark and foreboding entrance hall. Rozen strode in and spun around, arms extended and a wry smile on his boyish face.

"Well, here it is. Home sweet home. Sorry about the state of the place, I guess the maid finally got fed up with me at some point and quit. Can't say I blame her, I've always been difficult to live with."

Jun followed the dolls in and gazed about at the old-fashioned Victorian style interior. Two words immediately came to mind: Resident. Evil. If there were any zombies here then that was it, he was out of here. Outside the rain finally began in earnest, pelting the roof and windows to the accompaniment of another long roll of thunder. Suiseiseki whimpered and clutched her twin's arm tightly.

"What happened here Father?" Souseiseki asked as she removed her hat, "How did the town end up like this?"

Rozen shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. "Not really sure. It isn't like this in my time. Lebensbaum is packed with people, and this place is usually ..." he trailed off, frowning for a moment before his eyes widened suddenly, "Oh!" he turned and hurried up the main staircase, taking the stairs two at a time. They hurried after him as he led them through the dark and dusty building, the multicoloured light from the doll's spirits providing just enough illumination to see with.

"This place is like some kind of haunted house or something," Jun wondered aloud as Rozen led them up another spiral staircase. He stopped and glanced back at him.

"It _is_ haunted," he said with dead seriousness.

"What?" Jun's eyes widened in alarm and his grip on the banister tightened considerably. It had taken him _ages_ to get used to living dolls, but now ghosts? That was all he needed. Rozen nodded and turned back, resuming his climb up the creaking old staircase.

"Yes, it's haunted even in my time. Ever since my little sister died."

Even the dolls stopped at that. Jun was the first one to ask the question that was on all of their lips. "Wait ... you said that you normally _sleep_ with your sister."

"That's right."

"Your _dead_ sister?"

"Yup. She should still be here actually; we're going to see her now."

What do you say to that? _What the hell do you say to that?_ Jun had no idea whatsoever. None at all. It was simply beyond weird, beyond creepy. And this was _him_ thinking that. Creepy was practically the norm for him. He'd once sought out creepy things out of boredom, buying cursed items online for a thrill on the off chance he might actually get something scary. If he'd told himself then that he'd one day be creeping through an old German dollmaker's house to meet with the dead sister he regularly slept with, he'd probably stare at himself and then slowly back away.

They followed the doll's (clearly disturbed) father to what had presumably been a girl's bedroom at one point in time, before the curse of Lebensbaum (as Jun liked to think of it) had claimed it and turned it into a web-strewn faded grey phantom of its former self. And there, lying on the once lavish four poster bed, was Sleeping Beauty herself. To Jun's immense relief she was not the ghastly skeletal remains of Rozen's sister, but rather a stunningly beautiful girl of perhaps twelve or so. She was wearing an old-fashioned dress that fit the style of the house, and had long golden blond ringlets that cascaded loosely around her shoulders and face. Her eyes were closed and she seemed to be sleeping, though she did not appear to be breathing.

"Oh good, she is still here. Well that's something at least ..." Rozen wondered over to the bedside table and opened one of the tiny drawers. He removed a winding key from within and sat himself down on the bed beside the girl. They watched as he gently took her into his arms, reached around and inserted the key into her back. There was the familiar sound of a mechanism being wound, and Jun realised that the girl Rozen was holding was a _doll_. His sister's spirit must be inhabiting the thing.

"Rise and shine Ada, it's your big brother Rozen," he spoke softly, removing the winding key and tenderly brushing a strand of hair from her serene face. She twitched in his arms a few times, just as the Rozen Maiden did, and then slowly her eyes opened. Green eyes, just like her brother. They focused on Rozen, and for a long drawn out moment Jun and the other dolls all held their collective breaths.

Then she slapped him.


	37. EP9: Rude Awakening

Right then, so all I have to do to really annoy everyone is break up the Jun x Shinku pairing? Noted! Lol, kidding, I'm not going to do that. Here is the next part of episode nine, which definitely will be more than the normal four chapters long. I only have a few episodes left though, and I still have to cram everything in. This is a very Rozen centric chapter (and episode, really), but rest assured that Rozen will be leaving at the end of this episode and will not return until the very end of the story. Also, I managed to submit my finished writing competition entry so updates should hopefully be a bit more frequent. Anyway, that's enough from me, on with the episode!

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE NINE

Rude Awakening

* * *

"I HATE YOU!"

Rozen flinched the instant before the cushion hurled by his sister struck him square in the face and sent him sprawling back against the bed. He recovered only to find a tea cup flung in his direction, forcing him to duck. Ada continued to hurl whatever she could lay her hands on at him, her face a mask of grief and rage. Fortunately for Rozen, Souseiseki and Suigintou rushed to his aid and deflected the improvised projectiles away from their father.

"What are you doing?" Ada demanded in disbelief as she stared at the two dolls, "Why are you defending him?"

"He's our father, why wouldn't we?" Suigintou asked in equal amazement, her wings curled ready to block the teapot Ada clutched in a trembling hand. She pointed the spout at Rozen accusingly instead, her glittering green eyes narrowing in anger.

"Some father! Some brother! He abandoned us! All of us!"

"I didn't-" Rozen tried to protest, hands raised defensively. Ada snarled and stamped her foot.

"Shut up! Just ... shut up you great big meanie! I hate you!" she pulled back her arm to hurl the teapot and both Suigintou and Souseiseki tensed in readiness. Ada suddenly sagged instead. Her shoulders drooped and the teapot fell from her hand onto the bedroom floor. She dropped to her knees and pressed her hands to her face, sobbing loudly. It was a miserable lonely sound in this desolate and decaying old room.

"Err ..." said Jun, not sure what to make of all this or what to do. The Rozen Maiden were all too stunned to react, but Rozen himself slid off the bed and cautiously approached his sister. He knelt down and tentatively wrapped his arms around her, fully expecting another slap at any moment. Ada didn't react, she merely continued crying. Her brother pulled her close and stroked her hair. For a long time no one spoke, until Ada pulled slightly away and struggled to quell her tears.

"Y-you left us. You hid from us where none of us could ever find you. All because of Alice!" she hiccupped and screwed her eyes tightly shut, shaking her head from side to side, "None of us were good enough to measure up to her!" she opened her tear-filled eyes wide and punched Rozen weakly against the chest, her face filled with pain and anguish, "It's not our fault we're not perfect! It's not our fault none of us are Alice! Why ... why do you love her so much more? Aren't we enough for you? Isn't it enough that you have a sister that adores you and daughters that worship you?"

None of the other dolls spoke, yet several of them hung their heads in guilt or winced at her words. Because she had spoken the very words that many of them had also wanted to speak, words they had all wondered at. Even though Jun felt the words were perfectly justified, he also felt kind of sorry for Rozen, because they were being directed at a younger version of the person they were meant for. This Rozen hadn't even made his daughters yet, yet here he was taking the flak for things he hadn't even done.

Rozen blinked back tears, his face showing the mixture of confusion and frustration that was whirling around inside of him right now. He shook his own head as if to deny the accusations levelled against him. "That's not ... I didn't ... I don't even know who this Alice girl is! I would never abandon you Ada, nor any of them!" he glanced around at his daughters, who were all watching him with wide eyes now. Ada's gaze lowered to the floor and tears fell straight from her eyes onto the faded carpet.

"You already did, big brother. It's no use saying you wont when it has already happened."

"Well as far as I'm concerned, this is the future!" Rozen countered angrily, tightening his grip on his sister, "A bad future! Maybe my future self made me come here to see the mistakes he made, so that ... so that I wouldn't make them myself!"

"Uh, I don't think that's why he brought you here ..." Jun said carefully. He'd only met Rozen as an adult briefly last year, but he didn't get the impression from the man that he was altogether unhappy with the way things were. From what little he'd told Shinku, he still wanted Alice. The young Rozen here however seemed determined. He sniffed and wiped his eyes on his sleeve.

"I wont abandon any of you. I don't care who or what this Alice person is, I love you Ada. And my daughters."

"Ask them!" Ada said sharply, pointing across at Shinku, who was stood by Jun's side, "Ask them how much time their father spent with them! Ask them if they think they're good enough for you! Well?" When she saw Rozen hesitate she directed her piercing gaze at Suigintou, who was still standing on the bed. "You, Suigintou - do you believe you are worthy of your father's love? Do you think he truly loves you?"

Suigintou gaped at the sudden and direct question as all eyes turned on her. She glanced around at her sisters and then turned her gaze on Rozen himself. He was watching her with pleading, begging eyes, and for the first time she truly saw him as the child he was rather than as her all-wise father. She seriously considered the question before answering with complete honesty.

"No," she said flatly, "Even though I love Father more than anything, I ... I don't believe he loves me in return. I was his first attempt at creating Alice, and also ... his first failure. He left me unfinished," she gently brushed a hand against her midriff, which up until recently had not even existed, her father only completing her after the Barasuishou fiasco, "I never measured up to his vision of Alice, so I am not worthy to be with him. It's the same for all of us. It's why the Alice game exists in the first place."

Rozen's face fell and he hung his head in shame. Fresh tears started to well up in his eyes and this time he didn't even try to fight them. Ada regarded him coldly. "No," she echoed Suigintou, "You heard what your own daughter said. She's not good enough for you, because she's not Alice. Neither am I. That's why you left me big brother. That's why you left them."

Rozen clutched at his head, fat tears falling into his lap, creating dark patches on his trousers. It pained the dolls to see their father so distraught, but what could they say? Everything Ada was accusing her brother of was the plain simple truth, and none of them could deny it. It still didn't stop them from loving him, but that didn't change what he'd done. Or at least, what this boy was _going_ to do when he grew up.

"Don't cry Father," Souseiseki hopped down off the bed and approached the weeping Rozen. She gently laid a hand against his arm, yet he scarcely seemed to notice. He shook his head and coughed lightly.

"How can you even stand to call me that? If I'm really destined to be such a horrible father, why would you even _want_ to call me that?"

"Hang on just a second," interrupted Jun, taking a further step into the room. He gestured to Rozen, "You may not be the perfect father, but geez, who the heck is? Have you ever met _my_ father? It's been so long since I've seen him I sometimes have trouble remembering what he looks like. I'm sure he still cares about me though."

Rozen looked up at Jun with red-rimmed eyes. He sniffed. "It's hardly the same. Your father hasn't abandoned you, he's just away from home working to make money so you and your sister can have a good future. If he could be with you, I bet he would. Me though? From the sounds of it I don't even _want_ to be with my family. Face it Sakurada, my sister is right; I'm a jerk."

"That is not true," insisted Shinku, striding past Jun and stopping before Rozen. She looked up at him and fixed him with a firm, confident gaze. "Whilst it _is_ true that my sisters and I have few memories of you, the memories we do have are fond ones. More than anything, my recollection of you is one of happiness and warmth. I always felt safe and loved in your presence, both your elder and younger selves."

"She's right," Suiseiseki chimed in, waving her arms for emphasis, "Even though I so hate the very idea of fighting my sisters, none of us would even exist if it weren't for you. We all love you no matter what Father, so don't ever doubt that okay?"

Rozen seemed genuinely astonished to hear such praise from them, and certainly didn't feel he deserved it. Sadly their sentiment was not shared by his sister, who stood and scowled at him. "It still doesn't change what you are big brother; a _bad_ person. We all love you so much despite everything, but it's just not enough for you. You're too busy chasing a dream to see what's right in front of you."

They watched as Ada smoothed the creases in her dress and strode out of the room without another word. Jun stared after her and rubbed the back of his head. It didn't look like she was in a forgiving mood, at least not right now. "So," he said, "That's your sister huh?" He turned back and found Rozen staring at his own hands in silence. The dolls were watching him with concerned expressions. He had stopped crying, but he didn't seem remotely happy.

"Father?" said Suigintou, floating down off the bed. Rozen clenched his hands tight and raised his head to stare at his own reflection in the dresser mirror. His eyes, still bleary from the tears, narrowed sharply.

"There's someone I have to talk to," he announced abruptly, standing up. Jun frowned.

"Who?" he asked. Rozen tore his gaze away from his reflection and regarded Jun without really seeing him.

"Myself," he answered, and then walked out of the room.

* * *

It wasn't just raining outside, it was a _downpour_. A torrential hail of raindrops that pounded the streets and sloshed in the gutters, driven by a heartless icy wind. Rozen shoved the front doors of his home open and ran out into this thoroughly unpleasant atmosphere. By the time he'd taken a dozen steps into the dead garden he was utterly soaked to the bone, his thick blond hair plastered to his face and neck. Water poured from his dripping sleeves and gathered inside his patchwork boots, making his feet squelch with every step he took.

He stopped in the middle of the estate's back garden and whirled around, blinking water from his swollen eyes as he searched about. He flung out his arms wide and turned in a circle, as if giving an invitation.

"Come on!" he yelled, his voice muffled by the storm, "Show yourself! I know you're out there! I know you're watching!"

His only answer was a flash of light and a deep roll of thunder. Rozen lowered his arms and stared up into the sky, causing the rain to hit him square in the face. He didn't seem to care. "Show yourself you bastard! If you don't show up by the count of five-" he reached into his sleeveless coat and withdrew the timepiece, holding it up to the sky as if for the dark clouds inspection, "I'll leave! I'll go back to my time and Jun can find Pandora on his own!"

More thunder. Rozen lowered his arm and head and stared fixedly at the timepiece in his palm. Water splashed off its gleaming surface and droplets rolled across it, leaving wet trails in their wake.

"ONE!"

Rain and wind and nothing more.

"TWO!"

Dead leaves whipped past his face.

"THREE!"

One of the metal gates creaked with rust as it battered against its holdings.

"FOUR!"

Rain water dripped from his hair down his spine, prompting an involuntary shiver.

"FIVE!"

There was a flash of lightning and everything stopped. No, everything literally _stopped_. The rain, the wind, even the lightning itself. The sudden deafening silence rung in his ears. Rozen blinked and stared, millions of raindrops suspended in the air about him. He turned and saw a bolt of lightning striking the clock tower some distance away. It was frozen in place, a brilliant blue-white arc of raw energy. Time itself had come to a screeching halt the very instant he'd called out the number five, and it had not been his doing. Actually, it _had_ been his doing, just a slightly different _him_.

There was a sound, despite the fact that sound shouldn't be able to travel if time wasn't progressing. Then again, Rozen himself shouldn't be aware and moving either, yet he was. He turned and saw an almost surreal sight. Paving stones were materialising in the ground, providing a dry path for a tall figure to walk across. The suspended raindrops _parted_ for this figure, tugged aside as if by some unseen force. Rozen lowered the timepiece and moved to stand at the end of the new stone path, facing the approaching man.

It was himself, but grown up. A very disconcerting thing to experience, meeting your future self. His age was impossible to guess, since he was probably several centuries old at least, yet looked to be in his mid to late twenties. His hair was slightly longer, yet still messy, just in a different way. It partially obscured his eyes. He approached Rozen with his hands in his pockets and stopped about half a dozen feet away. He was of course completely dry, and seemed to almost glow with an aura of light. Young Rozen continued to drip, and by now a pool of water was forming on the paved path underneath him.

"So," said Rozen, tucking the timepiece away, "you're me then?" His future self nodded and Rozen scoffed. "Not much to look at. Nice trick, by the way," he gestured to indicate the selectively halted flow of time about them. There was a protracted silence between them, but as the younger Rozen was the less patient of the two it was he who eventually broke it. He jabbed an angry finger at his future self. "I hate you."

"That's understandable," his adult self replied. The voice was different, naturally. Rozen instantly hated it, or at least wanted to. He wanted to hate everything about this person, even though he knew this person was _him_. Who he would one day become.

"Why?" Rozen demanded, exasperated, "Why did you leave them? I love them, all of them! As daughters go, they're amazing!"

"They're not Alice."

Rozen clutched at his head and snarled. "Who the heck is Alice? What is so goddamn special about her that would make us abandon our family? And if you tell me that I'll 'understand one day' or when I 'grow up', I will kick you, fancy powers or not. So tell me, and make it good, because I might just kick you anyway."

His future self removed his hands from his pockets and approached. Rozen eyed him warily, but it wasn't likely he was going to harm his past self. Adult Rozen stopped before him and knelt, arm resting on one knee. He regarded his younger self for a long moment and smiled an infuriatingly knowing smile.

"You've noticed the way Shinku and Jun are together, haven't you?" he asked himself. Young Rozen frowned.

"I don't-"

"They're in love. Truly, deeply, madly in love with each other. I know you've noticed, because I remember noticing when I was you. And I've been watching them for a long time now."

Rozen scowled at his elder self. "I'm sure they'd be thrilled to know that. And how wonderful; I grow up to be a voyeur. Marvellous."

"And I'm frankly amazed at how precocious I used to be, but I don't hold it against myself. I was young after all," he smirked and brushed a sopping wet strand of hair from his younger self's face. "My point is, they love one another. Even though they love their siblings and friends as well, they themselves are _in _love. It's a different kind of love."

"And? So? Therefore?"

"You love our daughters just as our daughters love one another, but you haven't yet felt that _kind_ of love that Jun and Shinku have. You haven't fallen _in_ love with someone. I have."

Young Rozen was starting to see what he was getting at, though that didn't mean he liked it anymore for understanding it. "With Alice."

"Yes. I love our sister and our daughters, but I'm _in_ love with Alice. You will be too, one day. It doesn't matter that Alice is our dream girl, or that she's perfect. I don't care about that. I care about her because I'm in love with her, every bit as much as Jun loves Shinku. Now, try to imagine what Jun would be prepared to do to get Shinku back if he lost her."

Rozen sighed and shrugged, rolling his eyes. "I don't know him that well, but ... anything I'd guess."

"And now you have some idea of what I'm prepared to do to be with Alice. Even if it means hurting the ones I love."

"But _why_ do you have to be apart from them? Why do you have to force them to play this _stupid_ Alice game? Some of them don't even want to play it. I'm amazed any of them do."

Adult Rozen hesitated for a moment, and then glanced about as if afraid someone might be listening. He turned back to his younger self and leaned close, speaking in a hushed voice. "They aren't playing the Alice game," he said, "_I_ am. The Alice game isn't a battle between our dolls to become the perfect girl, its a battle between _dollmakers_ to create Alice. If I lose, then I lose Alice forever. I can't let that happen. There are rules to the Alice game that I have to abide by, as much as I despise them. All I can do is hope to make things right once the game is over."

Young Rozen's mind reeled at this new information and he struggled to make some sense of it all. To his astonishment he found that he didn't _quite_ hate his future self as much as he had a few minutes ago, although he was still angry with him. It all depended on how things were going to work out in the end, which neither of them knew. With a wry smile he flicked one of his dripping wet sleeves at his adult self, splashing his face with water. Naturally he had been expecting this, since he would no doubt remember _doing_ it himself. He flinched regardless, but smiled back.

"You're still a big meanie," Rozen scolded himself, "but I guess we both need to try and make things up to everyone. I hope you know what you're doing."

"I do," he assured himself, wiping the droplets of water from his face. Young Rozen folded his arms and regarded himself shrewdly.

"Alright then, I'll let you off without giving you the kick you rightly deserve. For now at least."

"Thank you. That's very kind of ... me."

"What do you need me to do then?"

"What I asked you to do in the first place; find Pandora's box and give it to Jun. It's very important you do that. Jun is our ace in the hole. If things go horribly wrong, and I'm afraid they just might, we'll need him if we want any chance of making a happy ending to all of this."

Young Rozen stuffed his hands in his damp pockets and nodded morosely, and his older self noticed the troubled expression on his face. Despite being the boy's future self, he still did not perfectly recall every detail of this encounter, and had to ask what was bothering him so much. Rozen was reluctant to say at first, but if he couldn't confide in himself then who could he?

"It's nothing really, it's just ..." he sighed heavily, "I _did_ notice the way Jun and Shinku are with each other."

"And?"

"Doesn't it bother you?"

Adult Rozen tilted his head slightly and smirked. "Yes, a little bit. You're jealous, aren't you?" His younger self blushed visibly and stared at the ground, but said nothing. Adult Rozen's smirk transformed into a sad smile and he laid a hand on his younger self's shoulder. "I know," he said quietly, "She's my favourite too." He leaned forwards and planted a kiss on his forehead, before whispering to himself; "Bless you."

"What?" Young Rozen asked. Then he sneezed. At once time resumed, a fresh wave of rain pelting him. He blinked and opened his eyes to see that his future self was gone, along with the paved path he had created. Thunder rolled from the previously frozen lightning strike, and Rozen glared at the space his elder self had occupied an instant ago.

"Thanks a lot," he muttered, getting soaked all over again.


	38. EP9: Raindrops

I'm back! I told you all to expect more frequent updates from me, so of course the universe decides to make my computer fry. Again. Funny. So yeah, I haven't been able to post any updates for quite a while. But I have a new computer now and I'm back in business.

I'd like to give a special thanks to Atama Ga Kuru Teru for reviewing every chapter. I'm glad you like my little fic and I hope it continues to be a worthwhile read. Sorry about the yuri, but I'm a big fan of it (and also kinda biased towards it). I doubt there'll be much more of it as I'm on the last few episodes now and things are going to be more plot focused (well, in theory ...).

I also want to say sorry for taking so long to update this, but it was due to circumstances beyond my control. This chapter may not be very good either, as I'm out of practice (and stressed). There will be one final chapter before I wrap up episode nine, making this the longest episode of Märchen yet. The final three episodes are pretty much planned out though, so I do know what I need to write. I just have to ... y'know, write it.

One final thing (you know you can skip the author notes at the start, right? Go ahead, I do tend to ramble) I am going to update the Wizard of Oz, it's just that I had the next chapter of that written up and I lost it when my computer died. So I have to work up the energy to write it again. I'll probably finish episode nine of this before I get round to that.

**

* * *

**

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE NINE

Raindrops

* * *

Tomoe and Nori sat together in the living room drinking tea. Hina was lying flat on the floor drawing pictures with her crayons (on paper this time, as Jun really didn't like it when she drew on the floor itself), humming cheerfully to herself. Nori cradled her cup in her hands, her brow furrowed with worry.

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Tomoe assured her. Nori sighed and set her cup down on the table.

"I'm sure you're right ..." she decided to change the subject to try and cheer herself up, "So I hear the play was a big success. I guess it was a good thing Jun was able to fill in for Yuna at the last minute like he did."

Tomoe hesitated, wondering if she should tell her or not. "Yes ... Jun might want to take a few days off school though."

Nori stared at her, puzzled. "Huh? Why?"

"Umm, well ..." Tomoe frowned, trying to carefully phrase her next words, "It's just that some of the people in our class can be a bit cruel, and I think they might say or do something that would hurt him."

"What are you saying? Jun was great in the play and it was a big hit because of him. Why would they want to hurt him for that?"

Tomoe regarded Nori carefully for a long moment, wondering if she really was that naive. Surely she'd heard some of the things people had been saying after last night? She must have some clue. "Think about it Nori; Jun has always been teased for the things he does. He was already getting a lot of attention just for designing and making the costumes for the play, but to actually go out and perform in the part he did ... he dropped out of school for something far less embarrassing than that."

Nori wilted a little, finally understanding her meaning. "I guess ... but Jun's a lot stronger now than he used to be," her eyes narrowed with sudden determination and she looked up and gave Tomoe a firm nod, "In that case we're both just going to have to be extra supportive of him. I wont let him drop out of school again, and if anyone is going to pick on him just because he helped out then I'm going to tell them to shut up!"

Tomoe was taken aback by her firmness, but she fully agreed with her attitude. As it was, the fact that Jun had dressed up and performed as the Wicked Witch might not cause him as much grief as she feared, given the massive Rozen Maiden battle that had occured on stage the same night. As many people were discussing that as they were Jun, and the few people at school that hadn't already checked out Jun's blog were now doing so in order to find out more about the dolls. He _had_ acquired an unfortunate new nickname though, and could expect to be hailed as 'doll boy' at school come Monday. Or worse, 'doll _girl_'. Tomoe hoped that Nori was right and that Jun was strong enough to cope with the attention he was going to get.

"Oh! Kanaria!" Hinaichigo exclaimed. She jumped up to greet the second Rozen Maiden doll, who strolled in through the glass doors, twirling her parasol. Nori and Tomoe turned in their chairs and waved to her, and she smiled and waved back.

"Hello ladies! Oh, Miss Kashiwaba, I was hoping to find you here. Is Jun here too?"

Tomoe frowned. "Jun? No, he and the others left for a while. We don't know how long they'll be. Why? What is it?"

Kanaria stopped in the middle of the living room and glanced down at Hina's crayon drawings for a moment. "Hmm? Oh, Micchan sent me over to remind the two of you that she has a new fashion shoot set for you both tomorrow. I just offered to deliver the message for her, and maybe see that cute boy who was with Jun earlier."

Tomoe had completely forgotten about the new photo shoot. Whilst she had nothing planned for tomorrow and would be able to do it fine, she wasn't entirely sure if Jun would still be up for it. Or if he even should what with everything that had happened recently. Nori seemed confused by something.

"What boy?" she asked. Kanaria stared at her.

"The one who came to the doll shop with him. Blond, green eyes like yours truly, talks kinda funny. Really _really_ cute, y'know?"

Hinaichigo laughed and waved her hands about. "So you met Father too! Hina is so happy that he's come to visit us."

Kanaria gaped at Hina with a mixture of frank astonishment tinged with a growing sense of horror. Her lip quivered. "W-what was that? F-father? But ... but ... he was just a boy! Father is older than that!"

Hina stared blankly back at her sister and spoke in a low voice as if she were surprised that Kanaria didn't already know. "Yes, but present Father brought past Father to the here and now so he could help Jun find a special doll for us, and past Father is young like Jun is and can speak to us and be with us even though none of us are Alice yet."

Kanaria's eyes were wide now, and her parasol dropped from her currently frozen fingers and landed on the floor behind her. She trembled slightly, her forehead twitching as her much-advertised brain (or whatever she had that passed for one) digested what Hina had just said and realized the full implications of this.

"Umm, Kanaria? Are you okay?" Nori asked, worried by the little doll's behaviour. Kanaria whimpered and spoke in a tiny little strangled voice.

"I told Father to ... to get his hands off me ... I told ... _Father_ ..." she shook her head suddenly, seeming to snap out of whatever mental loop she'd spent the last several seconds locked in, and grabbed Hina by the front of her dress. "WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME?" she demanded at the top of her voice, shaking Hina back and forth with such speed that Hina seemed to occupy two places at once. Before Hina could answer, Kanaria released her and pressed her hands to her mouth to suppress another whimper. Hina continued to rock back and forth out of sheer momentum for several seconds before coming to a stop.

"What do I do, what do I do?" Kanaria gripped the side of her head, suddenly frantic, "Think Kana, think! I'm the brainiest Rozen Maiden, I must be able to think of something! That's it!" she punched the air triumphantly, "I will find Father and tell him I'm sorry!" she lowered her hand and searched about, before turning back to Hina and grabbing her once more. "Where is he? Tellmetellmetellmey'hear!"

* * *

The dolls were taking the opportunity to explore their former home now that they were here, and Shinku had wandered off on her own through the dark, drafty old building. Memories that had long been hazy and indistinct, so old were they, swam into sharp focus now that she had found herself once more in the place where they had occurred. She would pass by a painting or an ornate set of doors, only to have the grey dreary sight before her eyes transform into the former glory of days past that she recalled. Flashes of her time spent here, with Father and her sisters.

She came to a room on the ground floor. It was as dark and derelict as the rest of the house, but Shinku saw it through past-tinted eyes and felt a surge of emotion as she recognized it. Here. This was the room in which Father had wound her for the very first time. The first time she had _ever_ been wound. Right there on that chair across the room. She had opened her eyes for the first time, and Father was the first sight she had seen.

Shinku had slipped down from the chair and walked to him as he beckoned to her. Her steps had been faltering, jerky. Without any sense of grace or poise. She had yet to learn the lady-like mannerisms that she carried herself with now. Father hadn't minded. He was overjoyed when she stumbled into his waiting arms, and presented her with a single red rose. It was her strongest, most vivid memory of Father if she discounted her recent experiences with his younger self. She always felt warm and safe inside when she recalled it. Over the many, many years she had spent apart from him, if ever she began to doubt his love for her, or hers for him, she would remember that moment here in this room and her doubts would vanish in an instant.

She blinked and found herself in the present once more. The only sound was that of the rain beating relentlessly against the windows, a steady rhythm punctuated by the occasional deep rumble of thunder. Shinku wandered over to one of the windows and stared out across the rain swept gloom of Lebensbaum. Without thinking she pressed a hand against the glass and watched the patterns the rain made as it struck the window pane and dripped down its smooth surface.

"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" said Suigintou. Shinku saw her reflection in the glass but did not turn to face her. She bobbed her head lightly.

"It does."

"I must say, these past few days have been quite unexpected," Suigintou continued. She moved to stand by Shinku's side and joined her in staring out of the window, "Father appearing to us as a young boy. Bringing us back here after all these years. Helping us to find a way to avert the Alice Game."

Shinku said nothing, though she agreed with her sentiments. It was unexpected and strange, though not entirely unpleasant. She noticed Suigintou glance sideways at her, briefly, before resuming looking out of the window. She seemed to be carefully trying to word a question that was on her mind.

"Shinku ... what do you think will happen? To us, I mean. The Rozen Maiden. And Alice. How do you think ... how do you think it will all end?"

Shinku was surprised to hear Suigintou ask such a question. The Suigintou she had known for centuries would never ask such a thing, and if asked it herself would arrogantly proclaim that it would all end with herself winning the Alice Game in triumph. That she _had_ asked was merely another sign of how much she had changed these past few months. It was ... nice. Shinku was glad for the change.

"I do not know," she confessed after several moments contemplation. She lowered her hand and turned to her sister, "Whilst I do think that Father still wishes to be with Alice, I no longer believe he wishes us to fight one another to achieve that end. Why else would he tell me to search for an alternative to the Alice Game?"

Suigintou considered her response silently, her brow furrowed. Shinku got the impression that something was bothering her, and asked what it might be. Suigintou folded her arms. "Laplace told me that Alice would be born soon," she explained, "That this was the final era for the Rozen Maiden."

"I see. And do you believe him?"

Suigintou hesitated. Well? It was difficult to say. Laplace was so enigmatic it was impossible to guess at his motivations, if he even had any. Therefore it was equally impossible to tell if he had any reason to lie or mislead. Shinku watched her carefully and could see the uncertainty in her features.

"If it troubles you so, give it no further thought," she said, "Laplace no Ma is a trickster rabbit who spins riddles and plays word games purely to frustrate and obfuscate. Nothing he has to say is worth listening to."

Which was probably true, Suigintou reflected sourly, yet she still wasn't entirely convinced. The Alice Game had been going on for several hundred years now. It had to end _some_ time. And now the true seventh doll had appeared, not to mention this business with Pandora's Box ... the end truly did seem closer now than it ever had before. And that scared her. Loathe though she was to admit it even to herself, the prospect of the game ending frightened her more than anything else ever had.

Once again Shinku seemed to be attuned to her feelings and sensed her thoughts. She regarded her sister intently and gently laid a hand on her arm, startling her somewhat. "Tell me Suigintou; how would _you_ wish everything to end?"

Suigintou blinked at her, completely thrown by such a question. "What? What do you mean?"

"If you could choose the outcome for the Alice Game, if you could determine how events would unfold, what would you wish to happen?" Shinku clarified for her. Suigintou stared at her younger sister, still at a loss for words. When finally she got over her surprise, she unfolded her arms and gave the question some serious thought. How would she like things to end? The answer to that should be obvious, and indeed if asked a year ago she could have rattled off an answer with utter certainty. Now however ...

"I'm not sure," she said quietly, her eyes downcast. She frowned. "I want to become Alice, but I would also like it if ... if we could all be with Father. You, I, Megu, even Hinaichigo and that pretentious little Kanaria," she looked up into Shinku's serene blue eyes and found to her own amazement that she was smiling at Shinku, "But most of all Shinku, I ... I would ..." she trailed off and abruptly turned away so that Shinku would not see the faint red blush blossoming on her cheeks. _I would like to be with you,_ she had intended to say, yet the words had quite failed her. And no wonder. A small part of her that still retained her old resentments and arrogance balked at the mere thought of those words, even though they were also quite true.

Shinku stared at Suigintou's back in astonishment, as if she had heard the unspoken words all the same. Her expression softened and she clutched a hand to her chest as she felt her Rosa Mystica burn with emotion inside of her. All of this was lost on Suigintou, but she may have got the gist of what Shinku was feeling when the little blond doll embraced her tightly from behind and wrapped her arms around her, her head resting against Suigintou's back.

"Oh, Suigintou ..."

Suigintou made various half-formed sounds that may have been a failed attempt at forming coherent words as she floundered about, unsure how to react. When she realized that no one else was here but the two of them and that she didn't have to act her usual haughty self, she relaxed a little and placed her own hands atop Shinku's. She smiled, a sad smile of regret. Regret at all the years of hatred and ill will she'd directed at Shinku. These past few weeks they'd spent being on comparatively good terms with one another had been her ... happiest? Had they? Perhaps so.

The smile soon faded as her old self gave her a reality check and reminded her of a certain Medium, a human boy that enjoyed Shinku's affection in a way she likely never would. Her face contorted into a scowl and she pulled away from Shinku, taking a few steps away. She hung her head and curled her hands into fists, willing the cloud of sadness and frustration that threatened to overwhelm her to disappear.

Before either of them could say anything they heard Souseiseki cry out in alarm. Suigintou glanced up at the doorway, her eyes widening. Something was wrong.

* * *

"Father!"

They were all drawn to the main hall by Souseiseki's cries, and found the front doors wide open, admitting a heavy curtain of icy rainfall. Rozen, that is to say the fourteen year old Rozen, stood in the open doorway clutching something to his chest. Jun took one look at him and concluded two significant things.

One; the thing he was clutching was an ebony black doll case not unlike the Rozen Maiden cases, and must surely be Pandora's Box itself, the very thing they'd come to find. And two; Rozen was completely soaked through and couldn't get any wetter or colder if he dived into the ocean. He was dripping a huge amount of water onto the floor and was at the same time swaying slightly, his skin a rather unhealthy shade. He looked ready to collapse at any moment, which was in fact what he then did.

As Jun forced the doors shut against the freezing wind, the dolls all rushed to Rozen's side out of concern. All save Ada, who merely stood several feet away, staring. She seemed shocked.

"He's so _cold_," Suiseiseki observed, pressing a hand against his damp cheek. Souseiseki knelt before the young boy and gently nudged him, almost on the verge of panic.

"Wake up Father! Please wake up!" she pleaded, frantic. Jun approached and grabbed the doll case. He set it down to one side and knelt beside Rozen to examine him closer. It didn't take a detective to tell that he was a mess. His clothing was hardly suited for this kind of weather, and it looked as if he'd been out in it for quite some time.

"Oh man, what an idiot," Jun muttered under his breath, "He'll be lucky if he doesn't catch pneumonia or something ..."

"Well don't just stand there jabbering, _do_ something you no good puny runt, you!" Suiseiseki screamed at him, obviously ignorant of the fact that insulting someone you want to help out isn't the best way to get said help. Jun sighed, not bothering to snap back at her. They really did have to do something or Rozen might actually freeze to death. And if that happened history would probably implode on itself ...

"Alright, Suigintou - go and find a fireplace somewhere and get a fire going. Burn the furniture if you have to, just do it," he ordered, and was mildly surprised when she went off to do just that without so much as a scoff or a scowl. But then the dolls always did have a major soft spot for their father. He turned to the twins and jabbed a finger at them. "You guys go and see if you can find some warm blankets and a change of clothes for him."

Souseiseki stood and nodded, regaining some of her composure. Suiseiseki jumped up and barked "Roger!", and the two dolls set off. Jun turned his attention to Ada, who was still silently staring at her brother. He frowned.

"You could help them, you know," he suggested. She blinked and looked at him, before turning and following after the twins. Jun watched her go, and then was startled when he felt something tugging at his trouser leg. He glanced down and was astonished to see that it was Shinku. She was looking up at him and seemed almost frightened.

"What should I do, Jun?" she asked nervously. Jun was momentarily thrown by her uncharacteristic behaviour, but then had to refrain from smiling. Shinku was at a loss, even a little scared. Whilst the situation was hardly amusing, Jun found that just a little sweet. And of course now he got to do something he'd wanted to do ever since Shinku had entered his life. He plastered the most serious expression on his face he could manage and pointed in a random direction.

"Go make a pot of tea!" he commanded. Shinku gaped at him, momentarily torn between her concern for her father and her ingrained sense of etiquette, which insisted that servants do _not_ give orders to their masters. Then she closed her mouth and departed to go and find the kitchen. Jun watched her leave with an immense feeling of satisfaction. Ha! Finally, he had been able to tell _her_ to go and make the tea! Ha!

"Oh right, yeah ..." he shook his head to clear out the clouds of smugness gathering there and turned his attention back to the unconscious figure of Rozen, who was currently doing a good impression of a drowned rat. Jun bent down and lifted the dripping boy up, propping him on his shoulder as best he could. Naturally he felt heavy as hell, because his clothes were carrying a fair bit of extra weight in the form of water. He spared a glance for the black doll case on the floor before setting off to find Suigintou, who with any luck would have a nice fire going.

* * *

A good fifteen minutes later Rozen stirred, drawn back to a state of wakefulness by the heat of the flames from the extravagant fireplace. He rubbed at his eyes and slowly sat upright, finding himself lying on a surprisingly snug rug and wrapped in several ancient blankets.

"'Bout time you woke up," Jun remarked. He got up from his chair and moved over to Rozen, carefully setting a cup down on the floor beside him. Rozen stared at it. It appeared to contain a liquid that smelled suspiciously like tea of some sort. Possibly. He then noticed that not all of the steam was coming from the tea; _he_ was steaming too, water evaporating from him due to the heat of the fire.

"What happened?" Rozen managed to articulate, his head as foggy as the town outside currently was. Jun sat himself down on the floor and snorted.

"You almost got yourself killed, that's what happened. It certainly _wouldn't_ have killed you to wrap up against the weather before you went outside."

"Oh," said Rozen, his memory reconnecting with his conscious mind and filling in an awful lot of blanks. Yes. After his confrontation with his future self he had decided to go and get Pandora's Box from the clock tower before returning to the others. In hindsight the weather was a bit too harsh to be out and about in without appropriate attire. He just hadn't thought about it, which was stupid really, but he was impulsive like that. He glanced about and frowned slightly. "Where are the others?"

"Looking for more fuel for the fire," Jun answered, "I figured you'd want them out of the way while you got dressed as well," he nodded in the direction of a neatly folded pile of clothes. They were intact, which might seem odd given that they were several centuries old, however they hadn't been in such a fit state when Ada and the twins had found them. It was only thanks to Shinku's time reversal magic and her artificial spirit that they were now whole once more.

"Oh," said Rozen again. He shuffled about and peered under the cocoon of blankets wrapped around himself. His head then jerked upright and he stared straight ahead for several seconds. "Err ... who undressed me?" he asked.

Jun flinched and looked away, blushing slightly. "I did. Your clothes were soaked through, I had to. Sorry."

"That's okay," Rozen said brightly, "At least it wasn't one of my daughters. Although given the way Suigintou looks at me sometimes I'm sure she would have enjoyed doing that ..." he peered suspiciously at his tea for a moment before scooping the cup up and taking a sip. The hot liquid immediately warmed him up on the inside and as an added bonus was delicious too. Shinku had made it. He didn't know how he knew that, he just did. There was a palpable and awkward silence in the air between the two of them. Rozen sighed and set his cup down. "Aren't you going to ask me?"

"Huh?" Jun tore his gaze away from the fire and glanced at him, "Ask you what?" he said, trying his very best to sound sincere. It didn't work. Rozen stared at him sarcastically (yes, he actually managed to make a stare sarcastic, really) and Jun promptly swallowed. He asked the question he'd been forcing himself not to ask. "Well I was just wondering ... are you a ... uhh, are you a ..." which was to say he _tried_ to ask ...

"Am I a girl?"

Jun's cheeks glowed red. "Yeah."

Rozen chuckled and pulled the blankets tighter about himself. "No. Although sometimes I do wonder about myself."

"But ..." Jun rubbed the side of his head, obviously puzzled, and Rozen decided to take pity on him and just spell it out.

"The word you're looking for Jun, is 'eunuch'. I am a boy, I'm just ... incomplete. Or broken, some might say. Personally it's never bothered me that much. I _was_ a bit shocked when you told me I had daughters though."

Jun stared back at the fire, his face burning as much from embarrassment as from his proximity to the hot flames. He tried to imagine what that must be like. He wanted to ask _how_ it had happened but he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. He winced just thinking about it. In retrospect it did explain a few things at least.

"Not bother you?" Jun murmured, the firelight reflecting in the lenses of his glasses, "Seriously?"

Rozen nodded. "Seriously. I can get by in life a lot easier than I could without any, say, eyes. Or hands. Just try making it through a day without the use of your hand and tell me I have it bad." He shrugged and picked up his tea once more. "Besides, it has its advantages as well."

Jun scoffed, despite himself. "Yeah sure, maybe if you want to join a choir or something."

Rozen took another long sip of his tea, enjoying the taste. He smiled. "Well apparently I grow up to be an immortal alchemist and master dollmaker, with _seven_ beautiful daughters. It can't have been that much of a hindrance, can it?"

Well that was certainly one way of looking at it. Jun wasn't entirely sure he'd be quite as positive about it if it were him, but then again he and Rozen weren't altogether that different. He slumped forwards and groaned wearily. "At least you managed to find Pandora's Box. Maybe now we can finally get this whole Alice thing sorted out once and for all."

"Speaking of which," Rozen frowned and cast a fresh look around the room, "Where is it?"

* * *

A sinister looking black car pulled up at the outskirts of Lebensbaum and the two occupants peered out at the foggy, rain-saturated town. They were both adult men, especially the second one who was so large that there was no possible way he could be mistaken for anything but. He had a shaved head and a thin beard beneath a pair of expensive dark shades. One might assume this was the sign of someone trying to be cool, since the weather hardly called for sunglasses, but it was actually because his eyes were slightly sensitive to the light.

They were both wearing identical dark suits, however they each wore them in a way that highlighted their personalities. The big guy (Sam was his name to those that knew him) wore his suit neat, with the jacket buttoned up and a respectable black tie knotted under his shirt collar. His companion (Max), a smaller lightly built figure with spiky hair and a facial tattoo, was a tad messier. His jacket was unbuttoned, his shirt untucked, and he wore no tie at all. If the climate were warmer he'd probably have his sleeves rolled up as well. He grimaced at the heavy rainfall thudding against the car windows.

"What the hell are we doing back here, anyway?" he wondered aloud. It was a rhetorical question because he knew the answer already, but he asked it out of simple annoyance all the same.

"We have to find the Box," Sam reminded him, his voice deep like the rumble of thunder outside, "The boss says it's here, so here we are."

Max scowled. "Freakin ghost town, gives me the creeps. I hate this place. We should just go back and say we didn't find it. Save ourselves a huge waste of time. We already looked for the damn thing - it sure as hell 'aint here."

Sam killed the engine (and from the look of him he could probably have destroyed it as well) and removed the keys. Not like anyone was going to make off with the car, this place was lifeless after all. Still. He sighed. "The boss said Rozen's dolls are here looking for it as well. They find it for us, we take it from them. Simple."

"Simple," Max snorted, "I hate fighting dolls. Goddamned creepy things. You remember when that dollmaker guy threatened the boss and you tried to teach him some manners? That freakin doll with the eyepatch nearly killed you Sam."

"I remember," Sam frowned at the unhappy memory. It was only because the dollmaker had called the thing off he wasn't in the ground right now. He raised one of his generously sized hands and tugged off a black leather glove. There was a dull grey metal ring around one finger. Completely unremarkable, at least in appearance. "That's why the boss gave us these," he murmured, turning his hand this way and that, "Insurance against any hostile intentions on their part."

Max glared at the ring on his own hand. "Magic rings. Magic dolls," he scoffed and pulled something from inside his jacket, "If one of those damn dolls so much as looks at me funny, I'm gonna empty this into them and not even bother to ask questions later ..." he pulled back the slide of his semiautomatic pistol to check that there was a round in the chamber, before shoving the weapon back in his shoulder holster.


	39. EP9: Crescendo

Finally! I thought this episode would never be finished. Sorry for making this such a long chapter, I just didn't want Episode Nine to stretch out onto another chapter, so I made sure I got it all done here. Not too happy with it, but I am looking forwards to Episode Ten. Ten will be crazy, and I have a lot of fun stuff planned for it. It'll also be the last fun episode of Marchen, as the final two episodes will be pretty dark and serious.

Huge thanks to everyone for reviewing, you guys are awesariffic! You all keep me going. Please review more and feed my starving ego. Look forward to an update for Wizard of Oz next time, and I might have something new in the future as well. Until then, please enjoy!

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE NINE

Crescendo

* * *

Pandora's Box was exactly the way it had been depicted in that doll history book. It was the same size and dimensions of a Rozen Maiden case, but made from ebony black wood, with silver highlights around the edges and a silver fleur-de-lis on the lid in place of a rose. There was more to it than that though ... a somewhat sinister air that surrounded the thing, a kind of intangible sense of deep uneasiness. It felt as if the Box was somehow distorting your perceptions when you looked at it, and if you looked at it for too long you would find it very difficult to look away.

"After all this time, here you are ..." Suigintou whispered. She knelt before the case and tentatively reached out to touch the lid with the tips of her fingers. Sure enough the thing was real and solid, yet it sent a shiver through Suigintou the second her fingers made contact with it. Why, she couldn't say. Was it perhaps its reputation, or something else? Either way she found it impossible to take her eyes off it, her gaze drawn inexorably into the perfect blackness of the case. And there was something more. Something ... familiar. A recognizable sensation that stirred a memory deep within her mind.

_Can you not sense it? My Rosa Mystica. It calls to you ..._

Words spoken to Suigintou by her little sister Kirakishou the very first time they had ever met. The seventh doll had pulled her big sister's hand towards her and placed it against her chest so that Suigintou might sense her Rosa Mystica, and know for certain that she was a Rozen Maiden. But why? Why that memory? What did it mean?

"What are you doing?"

Suigintou started with surprise, her hands jumping away from the Box as if it had stung her. She turned to see the twins standing a short distance away, clutching ancient weathered logs in their arms. They were watching her, and for some absurd reason Suigintou felt as if she'd just been caught doing something embarrassing. She scowled and stood.

"Nothing," she answered dismissively, "Nothing at all."

Suiseiseki scoffed at her, her expression one of disbelief. "Yeah right. Why don't you admit it; you were so totally thinking of opening it, weren't you?"

Suigintou folded her arms and fixed her gaze on the far wall. "And if I was?"

"Pandora's Box might be the key to one of us becoming Alice," Souseiseki said, setting the log she was carrying down on the floor, "It might very well be that whichever one of us opens the Box ..." she trailed off, letting the obvious end to that statement speak for itself. Suigintou stared at her.

"The thought had occurred to me," she said, "Whatever is the matter Souseiseki? Are you worried I might open it before you and be the one to finally become Alice?"

The Gardener doll shook her head solemnly. "No, that's not it. To be honest, I don't mind which one of us becomes Alice, just so long as one of us does."

Suigintou observed her carefully and was mildly surprised when she realized that Souseiseki genuinely meant what she said. Of course it wasn't that surprising, after all Souseiseki had always only been concerned with ensuring that Father was happy. She'd never had any other motive for playing or winning the Alice Game, unlike Suigintou herself. She glanced across at Suiseiseki, who set her own log down as well. "And what about you?" Suigintou gestured to the Box on the floor beside her, "Don't you want to open it Suiseiseki?"

Suiseiseki stared at the black doll case for a long moment, thinking the question over. Throughout her entire life she'd never once considered that _she_ might become Alice, because in the past doing so would have required her to fight her sisters and take their Rosa Mystica, and she had no intention of doing that. But ... if the Box really _was_ an alternative to the Alice Game, if it meant she could become Alice without having to fight her sisters, then ... would she?

"I ... umm ..." she floundered, unsure of herself. Then she noticed Souseiseki watching her and all thought of becoming Alice left her. Souseiseki was right, so long as one of them became Alice then Father would be happy. It didn't have to be her _or_ Souseiseki, there were five other Rozen Maidens after all. She smiled at her twin and turned back to Suigintou with a firm set look in her mismatching eyes. "Well, not really. I mean I'd so be fine with you or one of our other sisters becoming Alice. Just so long as Souseiseki and I can be together, I'm happy."

"Why don't you open it then?" Souseiseki prompted her big sister. Suigintou's eyes widened slightly, astonished by what amounted to an offer from two of her sisters to go right ahead and become Alice. She regarded them both warily, her old nature making her somewhat suspicious.

"Really? And neither of you would mind? Even if opening it does allow me to become Alice?"

Souseiseki said nothing, whilst Suiseiseki merely shrugged "Sure," she said, "Why not? I mean it'd put an end to the Alice Game and make it so none of us ever have to fight one another again. You want to, don't you?"

Of course she did! But how could they so casually accept _her_ becoming Alice? Her? Suigintou gazed at her two sisters in wonder, her hand clutched tightly to her chest. "After all I have done ... you really believe _I_ am worthy of becoming Alice?"

"Yes," said Souseiseki matter-of-factly, "You're a Rozen Maiden Suigintou, and you love Father as much as any of us. Maybe more. I can't think of any reason why you shouldn't become Alice."

Suigintou was speechless. She'd never expected to hear such kind words from her sisters. She'd been fighting them for so long, she sometimes forgot that these days she _wasn't_ fighting them anymore. That they could say nice things to one another without being sarcastic or mocking. Their words meant a lot. She closed her eyes and bowed her head slightly, a faint smile playing across her face.

_We all carry the radiance that makes us worthy of becoming Alice._

Shinku's words, words that had also meant a great deal to Suigintou. And now Suiseiseki and Souseiseki seemed to be saying the same. They at least seemed to think that she was worthy, but _was_ she? If asked she would have scoffed and said that she was the _only_ doll worthy of becoming Alice. But in her heart she knew that she had always desperately hoped that she was worthy, whilst simultaneously being afraid that she was not. Only when Father had brought her back and told her himself that she was did she start to let go of that fear and doubt, and still it lingered

Suigintou knelt before Pandora's Box, doing her best to ignore the strange, uneasy feelings it gave her. She laid her hands on the lid once more and prepared to open it.

"What's wrong?" Souseiseki asked, when, after a long delay she still had not tried to open it. Suigintou pulled her hands away and shook her head.

"I can't."

"Huh? Why not you big dolt?" asked Suiseiseki, confused by her inaction, "This is your big chance!"

Suigintou frowned. "Trust me Suiseiseki, I would like nothing more than to open it, but aren't we forgetting something?"

Suiseiseki didn't understand her, but her twin did. Souseiseki nodded once, catching her meaning. "Shinku, Kanaria and Hinaichigo."

"Yes," Suigintou got to her feet once more and sighed heavily, "We're all Rozen Maidens and we're all worthy of becoming Alice. I can't steal this opportunity away from them without first hearing what they have to say."

Suiseiseki gawped at her for a long moment before laughing and sticking her hands on her hips. "I swear, you've so completely changed Suigintou. I never thought I would ever see the day where you turned down a chance to become Alice because you cared what your sisters thought."

"I know," said Suigintou, rubbing the side of her head as if she were just as surprised by this turn of events as Suiseiseki was, "I'm actually quite shocked at myself."

* * *

The fog was finally starting to clear and the rain had eased off somewhat. It was still raining, but not nearly as fierce as it had been. For that Kanaria was grateful. She was also hopelessly lost. She'd gone through the portal the others had created but had no idea where to go from there. The town she found herself in was vaguely familiar, but not enough for her to be able to navigate with any degree of reliability.

Without anything solid to go on she'd opted to make for the high ground and scope things out a little. The highest point in the town was the clock tower, and if you squinted up at it you might just be able to spot the little grey haired doll crouched under her parasol on the rooftop like the oddest gargoyle you'd ever laid eyes on.

"Wow, it's quite a view from up here, isn't it Pizzicato?" she said, addressing her glowing yellow artificial spirit. It hovered beside her and pulsed brightly as it answered her, prompting Kanaria to roll her eyes. "Yeah yeah, I won't fall. The rooftop might be slippery and wet but I'm much better at keeping my footing now, y'know."

She pulled out her binoculars and peered through them, scanning the desolate town for any sign of life that might indicate where her sisters and her father were. To think that boy had been Father! And he'd been living with her sisters for days and none of them had said anything to her. She was not only envious of them for that, but also extremely annoyed and not a little upset. Her sisters were always forgetting her. Sometimes it was funny, but sometimes it actually _hurt_. Being ignored and forgotten can be more painful even than being picked on. Really, if Kanaria didn't have Micchan, she'd be downright depressed.

"Ohhh, I can't see them anywhere!" she wailed. This _place_ was depressing. It was cold and dark and miserable. In fact the town itself felt forgotten, ignored even. It was a lonely and lifeless place, save for the quite spectacular tree she'd noticed upon her arrival here. Kanaria sighed wearily as she lowered her binoculars. What if she couldn't find them? Father might leave before she had a chance to see him again and apologize.

"Huh?" she glanced across as she noticed Pizzicato zip back and forth frantically, trying to get her attention. "What is it Pizzicato? Have you spotted them?" She raised her binoculars once more and pointed them at her artificial spirit. Once it was sure she was looking it moved aside, and she found herself observing a large estate at the edge of the town. Seeing it gave her a peculiar feeling of deja-vu, and she soon realized why.

"That's ... that's home! Home Pizzicato, home! That's where Father made Kana and her sisters. I haven't been there since ... well, a really _really_ long time ago, y'know?"

Just seeing it brought back memories and made her feel terribly homesick and nostalgic. She had some _good_ memories of that place. Father had never ignored her or forgotten her name, at least not during the brief time she'd spent with him there. She really missed him and didn't want to lose an opportunity to see him again.

"Wait, what's that?" she wondered aloud. She adjusted the focus on her binoculars and was alarmed to see an ominous black car pull up on the side of the road closest the house. Two men got out, shoulders hunched against the rainfall, and Kanaria didn't like the look of them one bit. As she fiddled with the focus she caught a glimpse of a pistol in one of their hands and let out a short gasp.

"That doesn't look good, does it Pizzicato?" Kanaria said as she lowered the binoculars, "Two suspicious characters with guns heading for my home ... not good at all," she stood upright, intending to strike a dramatic pose on the roof of the clocktower, when instead her foot slipped out from under her and she wobbled dangerously. She had a brief moment with which to curse her ill luck before gravity did its thing and sent her plummeting to the street far below.

* * *

"Whatever is the matter?" Shinku asked Jun. She and all the others were watching Rozen, who was currently fiddling with that complex Timepiece thing he had. He was also holding an odd sort of conversation with the thing and seemed to be extremely puzzled.

"What?" he said, addressing the object in his hand, "That doesn't make any sense! I wound it back up, it shouldn't be doing that!" he cursed and shook the Timepiece out of frustration. Jun frowned and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Uh, Rozen? What seems to be the problem?"

Rozen scowled and glanced up at him. "I have no clue! According to Holie the Timepiece is counting down, and when it's finished it's going to return to my time. But I never started any countdown!" he glanced back at it and groaned, "It shouldn't be doing this ..."

"May I, Father?" Shinku approached and extended a hand. He passed the Timepiece to her and she examined it intently for several long seconds. Finally she held it up. "Come now Holie, explain yourself this instant," she commanded. The past version of her artificial spirit was inside the Timepiece, apparently a key component to making the device function. Shinku frowned as she listened to its explanation. "I see," she said.

"What? Did it say what was wrong?" Rozen asked. Shinku nodded and handed the Timepiece back.

"Yes. Apparently an outside force is calling it back to its own time. Holie says you must return now or you will be trapped here in this time."

"Outside source?" Rozen wondered aloud, "What could that be?"

"Who knows," said Jun, extending his hands as if to say that it wasn't really important, "Either way you don't want to miss your ride back. If you get stuck in this time then you wont be able to make the Rozen Maidens in the first place."

This drew a series of startled looks from several of the dolls, who fully understood the implications of this. Suiseiseki in particular was wide-eyed with panic. "B-but that would mean we wouldn't exist anymore!" she bawled, her hands bunched together tightly against her chest, "That is so not good! I really like existing!"

Rozen hung his head in resignation and sighed, his previous irritation gone. "I guess this means I have to go then ... pity, I was having a good time with all you guys."

The room fell silent as the dolls realized the implications of _this_. Their father was going to have to leave them now. For hundreds of years he'd been apart from them and all they'd wanted was to be with him again. And now, in a way, they sort of had. And it had been fun. But it couldn't last, they all knew that. Deep down they knew that he would have to leave sooner or later. They'd all just sort of hoped it would be later.

"Do you really have to go, Father?" Souseiseki asked softly. It was a question she already knew the answer to, but she had to ask it anyway. Rozen tucked the Timepiece away and nodded.

"It looks that way. I wish I didn't have to. I wish _so much_ that I didn't have to go," he said, his voice tinged with a mix of frustration and sadness, "But I guess I ..." he trailed off, and a moment later Shinku picked up for him.

"You must return to your time and grow up to be the father we all know and love," she finished for him, "We knew that this moment would come, and now it has. I believe I speak for all of us, Father, when I say ... thank you."

Jun was amazed to see that the dolls were tearing up, even Suigintou. He couldn't really blame them though, he'd been the same way when his parents had left. They had sat him and Nori down one day and told them both that they were going away to work overseas, and would be gone for a very long time. Jun had shut himself in his room and cried until he ran out of tears, and he knew Nori had been the same. In some ways he was a lot like the dolls. He knew what it was like to be separated from one's parents for a long time, to rely on a sister for support and company. He didn't envy them this moment.

Rozen knelt before the twins and smiled at them both. They were holding on to one another for comfort, and were less than thrilled with the prospect of losing their father once again. "Listen," he spoke softly to them, "I know how much the two of you care about each other-"

"We care about you too, Father!" Souseiseki assured him. He chuckled and grinned at her.

"Thank you. That means a lot Souseiseki. But what I'm trying to say is ... if the two of you want to be together, then that's fine by me," he said, sparing a coy glance for Jun, as if daring him to say something, "The fact that you love each other so much makes me happy. And Souseiseki?"

"Yes Father?"

Rozen leaned over and whispered into her ear so that only she could hear; "Put your own happiness before mine."

Souseiseki's eyes widened at his words, and he pulled back from the twins while Suiseiseki stared at her, curious as to what Rozen had said. Rozen turned now to Suigintou, who looked as if she were sulking. She sat on the edge of a nearby chair, hands clasped around her knees and a deep scowl upon her face. Rozen plonked himself down in the chair, grabbed a hold of her and sat her on his lap.

"Stop scowling so much Suigintou," he instructed with a playful voice, "You're so much prettier when you smile, you know."

Needless to say this did wipe the scowl off her face and replaced it with a luminescent blush. Rozen squeezed her tight and pressed the side of his face against hers. "I love you, Suigintou," he said with absolute sincerity, "Never _ever_ doubt that. You're my little angel." He lowered his voice to a whisper once more and added; "I think I know why I left you incomplete. I think it was because I never wanted you to fight in the Alice Game, never wanted to see you hurt. But by doing that I hurt you myself. I'm sorry, Suigintou."

Jun and the dolls were startled by the expression on Suigintou's face as Rozen got up and gently set her down, and they all had to wonder at what he had said to her to provoke such a reaction.

Now it was Shinku's turn. She steeled herself as her father knelt before her and reached out towards her. He removed her pocket watch and held it open before her. They both watched the second hand tick by, acutely aware that each movement cut short the time Rozen had left. Rozen turned his attention back to Shinku and pressed the watch into her tiny hands, enveloping them in his own. "Time is precious, time is fleeting," he said with all seriousness, "Time is also your specialty, Shinku. Spend your time wisely, because I think time is running out. And not just for me."

Shinku said nothing, not understanding his meaning but unable to find her voice to ask him to explain. As with the others, Rozen leaned close to whisper something personal to Shinku, but this time he hesitated. He hesitated long enough that Shinku was about to try and ask if there was anything wrong, but he spoke before she could. His voice was hushed and she thought he sounded pained by something.

He said; "Shinku ... if I could choose any Rozen Maiden to become Alice, I would choose you."

Shinku had never been so shocked in her entire life, and seeing as her entire life stretched across several centuries, that was saying a _lot_. This was the only occasion she'd ever had cause to doubt her own ears, the only time she couldn't believe the words spoken to her. She stared directly ahead, unseeing and unblinking, whilst Rozen stood and approached Jun. Before he could speak, Jun jabbed a thumb over his shoulder.

"Aren't you going to say goodbye to your sister?" he asked. Rozen gave a short, humorless laugh and shook his head.

"Ada still hasn't forgiven me for abandoning her. I don't blame her, I still haven't forgiven myself either, and I haven't even _done_ it yet. I'll ... try to make it up to her in my own time."

"Well," Jun gave a half shrug, at a loss for what to say, "I guess this is it then."

"I guess so."

"It's been ..." Jun searched around for the appropriate word to describe the events following Rozen's abrupt appearance in his living room that night, "Weird," he settled on, "Very weird."

Whilst Jun clearly felt awkward saying goodbye, Rozen clearly didn't. He grinned widely and threw his arms around Jun in a hug, which caused Jun to turn a vivid shade of red. Jun wasn't sure if he should hug him back, but decided against it when he saw Suiseiseki smirking at him. Rozen squeezed him once and then pulled away, much to Jun's immense relief.

"Thank you, Jun."

"What for?"

Rozen lowered his gaze slightly, though continued smiling. "For taking care of my daughters when I couldn't. You took them in, gave them a place to stay-"

"Made them tea, opened doors for them, carried them around," Jun added helpfully, ticking points off on his fingers as he listed them, "I deserve a medal just for putting up with them you know - OW!" Jun winced and clutched at his much-abused shin, which had just received yet another kick from Suiseiseki. She stuck her hands on her hips and glared at him.

"As if!" she snapped, "If anything _we_ deserve a medal for having to cope with such a lazy no-good slacker!"

"You see what I have to put up with?" Jun gestured frantically at the little doll, but Rozen only sniggered.

"Admit it Jun, even though you argue with them you love them as much as I do," Rozen insisted. Jun gaped at him for a moment before crossing his arms and looking away in a huff.

"Like hell I do," he muttered, "Lousy obnoxious violent creepy little dolls."

Rozen giggled and nodded in full agreement. "Yup, that's my daughters." He leaned forwards and planted a kiss on Jun's cheek, which very nearly caused Jun to faint from shock. It very nearly caused the dolls to faint as well. "Give my love to the others who couldn't be here," he added. Before Jun could answer they all heard the sound of Holie pulsing inside the Timepiece Rozen had in his pocket. He pulled it out and checked it. "This is it," he said, taking a deep breath, "time's up, I gotta go."

There was a chorus of goodbye's and farewells from the dolls, and more than a few damp eyes. Rozen stood in the middle of the room and waved to his daughters, some of them waving back. Then he fixed his glittering green eyes on Jun and smirked, raising two fingers to his head as if in a kind of salute.

"Be seeing you," he said, and then vanished.

* * *

Ada was waiting for them all in the main hallway, arms crossed, face glowering. She noticed Pandora's Box clutched in Jun's hands and also noticed the absence of her brother. "So," she said shortly, "he's gone. Again."

"C'mon, don't be so hard on him," Jun urged her, "He's not such a bad person you know," and Jun found that he actually meant what he said. Sure, Rozen was crazy as hell, and seriously embarrassing to be around for any length of time, but he _was_ good. Still, he couldn't blame Ada for feeling the way she did.

Whether or not she believed him the couldn't say. She exhaled sharply and turned to her right, staring sullenly at the main staircase. "If you want my advice, find the deepest, darkest hole you can and throw the case into it. No good will ever come of it."

Before Jun could ask what she meant by that the front doors burst open and two men stormed in. They did not look happy, at least until they saw Jun and the case he was carrying. One of them, the smaller of the two, grinned like a shark that had caught the scent of its next meal and brandished a handgun at Jun.

"Well what'dya know, the boss was right after all," he said, "This job isn't going to be nearly as much trouble as I figured."

Ada rounded on the two strangers and stamped her foot, her hands clenched at her sides. "How dare you!" she yelled at them, "How dare you barge into my home uninvited, tracking your wet feet across my carpet!"

The smaller man with the facial tattoo sneered and turned his gun on Ada now. "I hate kids nearly as much as I hate dolls. Another word out of you princess and I might be tempted to put you to sleep. Permanently."

"We only came for the Box," the big guy said, speaking for the first time. He extended his hand towards Jun, "Hand it over and no one needs to get hurt."

Jun backed away, clutching the case tightly. "Uhh, guys ..."

Suigintou floated up into the air, her black wings expanding as she readied an attack. She eyed the two intruders with a dangerous glint and flexed her hands. "Oh look sisters, a pair of stupid humans have come to play with us. Shall I make the opening move?"

"You gotta be kidding me," said Max, "A flying doll?" He brought his gun around and fired a shot off at Suigintou. The white haired doll darted to the side, causing the bullet to burry itself in the far wall. She retaliated by unleashing a swarm of needle-sharp feathers at her attacker, which by all rights ought to turn him into a human pincushion.

They ought to have, but they didn't. A ring on his finger glowed with a greyish white light and instead of perforating him, the feathers struck a barrier and scattered, leaving him unharmed. Souseiseki brandished her shears and leapt at Sam. The big guy simply waited for the blow to connect, and didn't even flinch as the blades of the shears came within a foot of his face. They came no further though, striking a barrier just as Suigintou's attack had. She rebounded off the shield and landed on the ground a few feet back.

"Oh crap," said Jun, summing up the situation nicely. Sam frowned and strode towards him, not even bothering to raise his gun.

"We're not playing around; give me the Box now or things will go very badly for you."

Jun didn't even try to resist. The dolls attacks seemed to be useless, and if he tried to run he didn't think he'd get halfway to the nearest door before he wound up with a bullet in the back. Gulping, he thrust the black case out before him and backed away as soon as Sam snatched it. He turned to Max and presented the Box, holding it effortlessly in one hand.

"I've got it, let's get out of here."

Max shook his head. "Open it first, make sure it's the real deal. I don't wanna give the boss another fake."

"Why aren't our attacks working?" Suigintou hissed, keeping her distance from the intruders whilst trying to think of some strategy.

"It would appear they are protected," Shinku answered, staring fixedly at the rings each of the men were wearing. They were similar to a Medium's ring, except these two humans didn't have a doll of their own with them. Yet they did not seem surprised to see the Rozen Maidens, and had come for Pandora's Box. Very curious.

"It's locked," announced Sam, unable to prise the thing open. He lowered the Box and turned back to Jun, "Where's the key?"

"Key?" Jun gaped at him, bewildered. Rozen had said nothing about a key. Max growled and pointed his gun at the frightened boy.

"Come on kid, don't mess us around! Give us the damn key!"

"We were unaware that the case was locked," said Shinku, her voice perfectly level and calm, "We only found it moments before you arrived."

"You believe that?" said Sam, glancing over at his partner. Jun knew his answer even before he spat it out.

"Hell no," Max cocked the hammer of his pistol, which was unnecessary but succeeded in moving Jun from terrified into ohgodImgonnadie levels of fear. He held up his hands in a purely futile defensive gesture while Max took a step towards him. "Here's what I'm gonna do kid; I'm gonna count to five. If you don't hand over the key by the time I reach five ..."

"Guess," Sam finished for him. Jun gulped again. He had the worst luck ever.

"One."

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Two."

"I swear I didn't know it was locked!"

"Three. Not buying it, kid."

"If I had the key, I'd give you the damn key!"

"Four."

"I DON'T HAVE IT!"

"Five," Max fired. The bullet tore from the muzzle of the gun at speeds so great the human eye couldn't even perceive it, and it would have tore through Jun Sakurada's skull and brains quite easily if, at that precise moment, Ada hadn't shoved him out of the way. The bullet hit her instead, shattering her head into a thousand fragments as if it had simply exploded.

Jun fell to the ground, dazed by what had just happened, and it was possible his life was flashing before his eyes at a speed even greater than the bullet which had very nearly killed him. Ada's now lifeless form crumpled to the ground beside him and he stared at her in horror. Max meanwhile jerked around to look over his shoulder, astonished that Ada had managed to sneak around from behind him to reach Jun without him even noticing. Then he turned back and realized that what he'd shot wasn't even human.

"A doll!" he shouted, his ears still ringing from the gunshot, "She wasn't a kid, she was a goddamned doll!"

The Rozen Maidens, incensed by the destruction of Ada, began a new assault against the two violent intruders. This went about as well as the first assault, and when Sam and Max opened fire on them they were forced to dive for cover, cursing at their inability to land a single blow. Max swore and advanced on Jun, who was still lying on the floor.

"I _hate_ dolls!" he snarled, "It's like trying to freakin shoot Yoda!" He raised his gun and pointed it at Jun's head once again, only now he was close enough for Jun to see down the barrel of the thing. He stared at it, unable to look away, while Max snapped angrily at him. "Give me the key, kid, or I'll start counting again. Only this time I'll just count to one. You catch my meaning?"

"Hey, ease off a little," Sam urged him, his own weapon at the ready to discourage any further attacks from the dolls. Max ignored him and shoved the muzzle of his gun against Jun's forehead, prompting Jun to cry out, tears welling up in his eyes.

"One!" Max yelled. He never got the chance to pull the trigger however, because at that moment there was a strange sound. It was the sound of a chord being played, and accompanying that chord was a powerful blast of air that struck Max and flung him across the hall. All eyes now turned on the source of the blast.

It was Kanaria.

"Looks like I arrived just in the nick of time, doesn't it?" she said smugly. In one hand she was holding her violin, and in the other her parasol, which was unfolded and leaning against her shoulder. She chuckled. "I guess that makes me the hero y'know?"

Sam didn't hesitate; he aimed and fired, six shots directly at the smiling musical doll. Kanaria responded by lowering her parasol like a shield, and the bullets thudded into it. As the tinkle of spent cases hitting the floor faded away, Kanaria rolled her parasol to one side and giggled. "Oh please, it would take far more firepower than a handful of puny 9mm parabellum rounds to slow the great Kanaria down. Now then," she dropped her parasol to the floor and produced her violin bow, "Let me show you how _I_ argue with the barrel of a gun ..."

Max had managed to stagger to his feet and joined Sam in staring at the little grey haired doll as she began playing on her violin. Jun somehow found himself on his feet too and wisely decided to join Shinku behind cover, knowing full well what was coming next.

"Second movement - crescendo of baroque!" Kanaria played, and as the music filled the air it caused the air itself to react, whipping into a frenzy and filling the hallway with a howling gale. Sam and Max both raised their hands to shield their faces, but they might as well have tried to hold back a hurricane for all the good it did. In less than a few seconds they were both hit by a solid wall of screaming wind that lifted them off their feet and sent them flying through the open doorway.

The hit the ground outside quite painfully, and still Kanaria did not relent. She advanced up to the doorway herself, raising the tempo of her music. Sam and Max went tumbling head over heel away from the house, blown about by the kind of wind that could imbed a blade of grass into a tree. Only when they were far enough away was Kanaria satisfied, and ceased playing. She waved her instrument and shouted after them.

"AND DON'T EVER COME BACK Y'HEAR!"

As the two hired thugs scrambled for their car, Kanaria turned back to face the others. The hallway was a complete wreck, having been shot up and blasted by gales. Jun and the others emerged from whatever hiding places they'd been able to find and stared at her. Jun in particular was feeling shell-shocked given everything that had just happened. Kanaria however seemed unperturbed.

"You're quite welcome," she said, as if wondering what all the fuss was. Jun sank to his knees and wrapped his arms around himself, shaking, whilst Shinku approached the unmoving form of Ada and regarded her sadly. Kanaria looked from one person to the other, taking note of their sour expressions. "What's wrong? I drove them away didn't I?"

"Yes, but they have the Box," observed Souseiseki. And she was quite right. Despite being thrown about like a leaf, Sam had managed to hold onto Pandora's Box the entire time thanks to a combination of extreme strength and extreme fear of what his boss would do to him if he lost the thing. In the end, it'd all been for nothing. Their father had crossed time itself to give them the Box, and mere minutes after he'd gone they had lost it.

In the space of about five minutes they had in fact lost their Father, their aunt _and_ quite possibly the only alternative to the Alice Game. A lot can happen in five minutes. The whole world can be turned upside down.

* * *

Tomoe: Good morning Sakurada. Pandora's Box, the McGuffin you spent the last several episodes pursuing, is now in the hands of a German doll collector named Eike Grimm. Grimm plans to auction the Box to other collectors in the hopes of luring the person who has the key into a trap. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to infiltrate the auction and get Pandora's Box back. As always should you or any of your dolls be caught or killed, your parents will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This preview will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck Jun.


	40. EP10: Turnabout

Okay, I know I promised an update for Wizard of Oz next, but I have writers block on that, and I felt like doing this instead. So sue me already! I wrote this chapter at around two in the morning, so if it's an incoherent mess blame it on that.

Useless trivia time! First up, Sam and Max happen to be the name of a comic/cartoon/game crime-fighting duo, in which Sam is an anthropomorphic detective dog (like Kunkun!) and his partner Max is a hyperkinetic rabbity-thing. They're pretty funny actually. Eike Grimm is the name of one of the characters I created for my writing competition entry (you know, the one I finished at the end of last year and kept going on and on about). I liked the name that much I decided to use it again here. Laplace no Ma (Laplace's Demon) gets his name from mathematician Simon Laplace, who created a thought experiment called Laplace's Demon, which involved an imaginary entity that could foresee the future. Finally, the preview at the end of last episode is a spoof of a recurring element from 60's TV series Mission: Impossible, which I'm a big fan of. Yes I do know about the modern Tom Cruise movies. The TV show is way better.

Thanks for the reviews you awesome bunch of fantastic people. I love you all to bits. I'll shut up now and let you read the new chapter, assuming I haven't scared you off yet or made you fall asleep. So, umm, enjoy!

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**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE TEN

Turnabout

* * *

A doll collector. Doesn't sound very scary, does it? It doesn't exactly carry the same weight behind it as, say, gangster. Or cult leader. True enough, Sam and Max had once been asked by an old associate who they where working for now, and when they answered, their old friend had almost exploded with laughter. Sam and Max _had_ worked for gangsters in the past. And worse. For them to admit with a straight face that they were now in the employ of a _doll_ collector ... it had to be a joke, surely?

Eike Grimm was no joke. He'd gone up against drug cartels and crime syndicates, and walked away with a Kaiser Soze reputation. People laughed when you said doll collector. They stopped laughing when you said his name. The man was an urban legend. It was said he was over a hundred years old and had sold his soul to a demon. His enemies wound up horrifically dead despite being inside locked rooms or, in some cases, heavily fortified compounds. And that was just the ones that were _found_. It was not uncommon for people he disliked to drop off the face of the world entirely, never to be seen again. That he was a fully grown man who collected girly dolls was not something you should laugh about, not if you wanted to wake up tomorrow.

Sam and Max knew all of this, which was why they were both using all of their self control in order to avoid gulping when their employer walked into his office and sat down at his desk. For someone with such a reputation, Eike wasn't much to look at. An attractive middle-aged man with steel grey hair and matching eyes, wearing an old-fashioned three piece suit that was white as snow. He examined the ebony black doll case resting on the desk in front of him.

"And you say you were unable to find the key?" he asked his two hired henchmen. His voice was as grey and colourless as his appearance. Sam cast a nervous glance sideways at Max before answering.

"It wasn't there. I think Rozen was smart enough to hide the key separate from the Box."

"I see ..."

There was a drawn out silence, during which time Eike stared at the Box. He was finding it as difficult to look away as Suigintou had. It drew your gaze like a black hole. The silence wore on, growing increasingly uncomfortable in the stifling heat of the office. Eike liked the heat, which Sam and Max thought odd for such a cold person. They started to sweat, and not just because of the ambient temperature.

"You don't really need the key, surely?" Max said at last, desperate to break the oppressive silence, "Just give me a couple of minutes with the thing and I'll have it open for you, boss."

Eike finally looked up from the doll case and regarded Max, his expression inscrutable. He got up from his desk, slowly, and crossed around to stand in front of the two men. Even though Sam towered over Eike and had a build that could handle bare-knuckle boxing with a grizzly, he was afraid. If the boss wanted them dead for failing to find the key, he held no illusions as to his life expectancy.

"Give me your gun," Eike instructed Max. Max did so without hesitation. It had been reloaded since the insane battle at the Rozen Manor, and the safety was on. Eike flicked the safety off. While Max did his very best not to break down into a babble of excuses and explanations, Sam thought he saw something moving out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't make out what it was though, and his attention was soon drawn back to his boss.

Eike Grimm brandished the deadly weapon for a moment and then turned. He opened fire, three, four, five shots at point blank range. All aimed directly at Pandora's Box. Sam and Max flinched with each shot, their ears ringing from the noise of gunfire in the confines of a room. When the last brass casing finished rolling across the richly carpeted floor, Eike lowered the pistol.

The Box was completely unharmed. It wasn't even scratched. There were however several crumpled bullets on the desk beside it. Eike scooped them up and turned back to Max. He extended his hand expectantly, and when Max held out his own the doll collector dropped the flattened rounds into his palm. Max winced as his skin was scorched from the still red hot slugs, while Eike calmly flicked the safety back on and shoved the gun into Max's shoulder holster.

Turning away, he produced a handkerchief and wiped his hands clean, before sitting himself casually back behind his desk. He seemed, if anything, mildly annoyed. Sam risked speaking. "You want us to go back?"

"No, don't bother. You're right; Rozen wouldn't have been stupid enough to lock the box and then leave the key carelessly nearby."

"What if he has it himself?" Sam suggested, "He's not exactly an easy person to find."

Eike actually smirked a little at that, which was a good sign. They might make it out of the room in one piece after all. "Very true. I doubt he kept the key though. Laplace said that the rules of the Alice Game severely limit his ability to act while the Game remains in effect. He must have given it to someone ..." Eike tossed his handkerchief on the desk and clasped his hands together, brow furrowed in deep thought. A moment later he seemed to realise that they were both still present and waved them away irritably.

Sam and Max departed, relieved and not a little amazed to be leaving the office with their lives and their jobs still intact. They began muttering to each other as soon as they were out of earshot, whilst Eike returned to staring at the Box. So close and yet so far ...

"Max is a reckless idiot," said a voice, "You should let me deal with him."

"Perhaps I will," Eike answered, "It is so hard to find good help these days, after all."

There was a barely perceptible flicker of movement and the room's remaining occupant showed herself. She was a doll, and a living one judging by the fact that she was walking and talking. Her hair was a deep shade of pink, tied into a ponytail and held in place by a hairband adorned with violet roses. Her eyes were also pink, but darker in both colour and what lay behind them. She wore a dress composed of overlapping black and white layers, one black and one white stocking, and shoes that would probably break a shin if used in the same fashion as Suiseiseki used hers.

"Is it really Pandora's Box?" she asked, gesturing to indicate the doll case on the desk. Eike nodded.

"Oh yes. Exactly as Enju and Laplace described it. We're one step closer to realising our dream."

The doll's outline flickered and she vanished, reappearing on the desk itself. She knelt down and touched it, as if to affirm that it was no illusion. Her expression was one of amazement, as if she were touching a holy relic. She might as well be. Pandora's Box was legendary. Opening it had supposedly released evil itself into the world, but the Box was also said to contain hope. That was the reason she and her master had sought it for so long. Hope.

"I can ... I can scarcely believe it ..." she whispered, her voice filled with awe. Eike reached across the desk and picked her up. He then leaned back and cradled her lovingly in his arms.

"I told you I would find it," he said, his voice softer now, and carrying far more warmth than before, "I promised I would find a way to make you human, Rosetta. This is it. All we need do now is find the key."

The doll, Rosetta, reached up and brushed her hand tenderly across her master's face, her normally iron expression softening just as his voice had done. She smiled faintly. "And then we can finally be together. Then we can be happy."

Eike held her close and stroked her hair as he stared at Pandora's Box, his mind calculating and scheming, devising some plan to make that dream a reality. Someone, somewhere had the key to this Box. Whoever they were they had better watch out, because he was going to get it. One way or another.

* * *

Suigintou moaned as she started to drift up through the layers of deep sleep she had recently been occupying. Something felt ... strange. Oh yes, she had slept in Megu's bed again. Why her Medium insisted on such a thing was a mystery to her, and it did Suigintou no favours. A Rozen Maiden was meant to sleep in her case. In all honesty Megu didn't insist _that_ strongly, and Suigintou could sleep in her case if she chose to. It was just ... doing this made Megu happy, and for some inexplicable reason making her happy made Suigintou happy as well.

Her eyes fluttered open and she found herself staring into the slumbering face of her Medium. Correction; _should_ have found herself facing her Medium, however what she actually found lying opposite her was not human, and had only one eye. One yellow eye.

"Good morning, big sis," said Kirakishou, grinning widely at her. Suigintou sat bolt upright, wide awake now and feeling a potent surge of panic and fury at the sight of her youngest and unquestionably craziest sister. Kirakishou sat up as well, glancing about with evident curiosity. "Why do you not sleep in your case?" the seventh doll asked, seemingly puzzled.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Suigintou demanded, blatantly ignoring the question. She tensed, ready for a fight, though Kirakishou showed no sign of looking for one. She smiled instead and clasped her hands together against her chest.

"I came to visit you, big sis. I'm so terribly lonely ..."

Suigintou's response was to launch herself at her sister, knocking them both from the bed. She pinned Kirakishou to the floor and snarled. "Where's Megu? If you've harmed her-"

Kirakishou chuckled. "Why Suigintou, you're so very protective of her, aren't you? And you sleep with her at night no less ..." the rose that existed in place of her right eye extended out towards Suigintou's face, prompting the first Rozen Maiden to pull away in disgust. She released her little sister, who sat upright and grinned slyly at her. "If I didn't know any better I would say the two of you were lovers."

Suigintou scoffed and got to her feet, not bothering to respond to Kirakishou's goading. The rose retracted and she stood as well. "Your Medium is downstairs preparing breakfast," she said simply, "She was delighted to receive a visit from her angel's little sister."

"What do you _want?_ You're not exactly welcome here."

"My, how ungrateful - after all I have done ..." Kirakishou endeavored to appear indignant, though this soon changed to the open admiration she often displayed when in the presence of her eldest sister, "I only wanted to see you, Suigintou. Is that so hard to believe?" She reached out and took a hold of Suigintou's hand, her one eye wide, her expression disconcertingly honest, "You have so much love in your heart big sis; love for Father, for Shinku, even for your Medium. Is it too much to ask that you have some for Kirakishou too?"

Suigintou stared at her for a long moment, wondering what her game was. She'd known since they had met that her little sister held a fascination with her, yet she found it difficult to believe that she had dropped by simply to pay a social visit. Unable to figure it out, she pulled her hand away and scowled. "Leave," she snapped, "I want nothing to do with you, is that clear?"

Kirakishou actually seemed hurt by her words, and for a brief instant Suigintou felt as if she had kicked a tiny kitten. Then again the very notion of comparing Kirakishou to a harmless and adorable kitten was as insane as the seventh doll herself was. Before either of them could say anything further, the bedroom door opened to admit Megu carrying a breakfast tray.

"Oh, good morning Miss Angel. Did you sleep well last night?" Megu asked as she entered and placed the tray on the floor.

"Yes," Suigintou replied, glaring at her little sister. Kirakishou stuck her tongue out and then giggled, before turning eagerly towards Megu. The girl knelt before the breakfast tray and handed the seventh doll a plate filled with chocolate sweets and cakes. Kirakishou took this with wide-eyed glee, whilst Suigintou stared at the plate in puzzlement.

"_That_ is what you are having for breakfast?" she asked dubiously. Her sister plopped herself down without the slightest bit of grace and held a cupcake up in rapt anticipation.

"Ever since gaining a body, I have had an insatiable craving for ... chocolate," she answered. She devoured the cupcake and the look of ecstasy upon her face was borderline obscene. She wasted no time in tucking into the rest, and seemed to be enjoying the snacks altogether too much. Suigintou turned away from the sight of her little sister, feeling ever so slightly dirty after watching her eat for some peculiar reason.

"What would you like, Suigintou?" her Medium enquired. Suigintou knelt down before the tray and blanched.

"I'm not hungry. Just some tea."

"It's nice to meet one of your sisters," Megu said as Suigintou took a sip of tea and winced in dismay at the taste, "You should invite them over some time. I'd really like to get to know them."

"Some sisters come _without_ invitation," Suigintou muttered darkly, shooting Kirakishou a significant look. The seventh doll, having finished her 'breakfast' now, licked her fingers clean and then basked in the glow of such a wonderful taste, ignoring Suigintou's snide remark.

"Did you enjoy that?" Megu asked the white-clad doll earnestly, her own teacup half raised to her lips. Kirakishou clutched her hands to her face and smiled one of her lunatic smiles.

"Wonderful," she gushed happily, "No one has ever given me breakfast before. You have my most heartfelt thanks."

Megu giggled and lowered her cup. "Are all of your sisters so nice, Suigintou?"

Suigintou glared at the smiling Kirakishou, wondering just what the little psychopath was up to. "Actually ... she's the worst," she replied flatly, realising how absurd that sounded given the circumstances. When Megu left to take the dishes downstairs and wash up, Suigintou confronted her sister and demanded an explanation.

Kirakishou sighed. "You still do not believe me, do you? I came to see you sis, nothing more."

"You're an even worse trouble maker than I was," Suigintou countered angrily, "I don't buy this little lost lonely girl routine for one second."

For a long while her sister said nothing. She remained sitting on the floor and stared off into space. Just as Suigintou was about to lose patience, she spoke, her voice oddly quiet. "Think back. Think back to all those years spent alone. No home. No Medium. No sisters. Just yourself and your hatred." Kirakishou looked around and fixed her single eye upon Suigintou, her gaze boring into her big sister. "Did it ever ... tire you?"

"What?" Suigintou said, momentarily taken back by her strange question. Kirakishou didn't explain. She lowered her gaze and ran her fingers across the floor, as if tracing an unseen image.

"So tired ..." she murmured, "I never sleep well. I dream a troubled dream of deep forests and labyrinths and neverending ... neverending ... never ..." Kirakishou tilted her head as she started to repeat herself like a broken record, and Suigintou watched her odd behaviour as if mesmerized. She stopped suddenly and got to her feet, before snatching a sly glance at her big sister over her shoulder.

"What is it?"

"I have a favour to ask," said Kirakishou. Ah, thought Suigintou, here we go. She folded her arms and narrowed a pair of deeply suspicious eyes.

"Oh yes?"

Kirakishou looked away. "Will you ... brush my hair?"

That ... was not what Suigintou had been expecting, and for a moment she was at a loss for words. Brush her hair? What? Why? She stared at the odd little doll open-mouthed, her suspicious nature trying to find a malicious motive for such a request yet failing completely. "Brush your hair?"

Kirakishou _blushed_. Given what was known about her this was perhaps the last thing _anyone_ would expect her to do, yet there was no mistaking it. She clenched her hands tightly, her one eye closed. "Yes. Will you. Will you please. Brush my hair."

Since Suigintou had still not figured out what ulterior motive Kirakishou might have, she gave up trying to guess and shrugged. "Fine," she conceded with a puzzled sigh, "I must say ... I don't understand you at all."

They sat on Megu's bed together and Suigintou used one of her Medium's hairbrushes. Kirakishou removed the roses tied into her hair and then waited patiently while her big sister did as she'd asked. After a few silent minutes of doing this, Suigintou was startled to see that there were tears running down Kirakishou's cheek ...

* * *

Across town another doll was getting her hair brushed, but this doll seemed much more cheerful about it. Hinaichigo giggled happily as Tomoe ran a comb through her golden blond locks and adjusted the ribbon in her hair.

"There you go."

"Thank you Tomoe!" Hinaichigo beamed at the girl. Tomoe picked the little doll up and carried her over to the waiting doll case. Hina climbed in and peered up at Tomoe with her bright green eyes. "Are we going to Jun's again?"

"Yes Hina. I have to go to school again today, so I'll be leaving you there with your sisters, okay?"

Hinaichigo hesitated. "Is Jun not going to school with you today?" she asked quietly. Tomoe winced and shook her head. No, Jun wouldn't be coming to school with her today, just as he hadn't come yesterday, or the day before that. Nori told the school that he was feeling sick, but the truth was he was just plain afraid to go. Almost being shot to death can have that effect on you.

Carrying Hinaichigo in her doll case, Tomoe said goodbye to her mother and left for the Sakurada house. Nori welcomed her as usual and ushered her in, and Tomoe wasted no time in letting Hina out of her case once she was inside.

"Good morning Souseiseki!" Hinaichigo greeted her sister enthusiastically, waving her arms for added emphasis. The Gardener twin stared stoically back at her.

"Good morning Hina."

"I take it Jun is ..." Tomoe glanced past Nori towards the stairs. The look on Nori's face was answer enough. Jun hadn't left his room since he and the dolls had returned from Lebensbaum. The dolls were gloomy and more than a little reluctant to talk about what had happened. Eventually Suiseiseki gave Tomoe and Nori the abridged version, which was bad enough. Jun Sakurada was a mass of insecurities, yet even a strong person could be expected to have some kind of reaction to being held at gunpoint by a pair of armed thugs. It was enough to give anyone a bad fright.

"I'm sure that he just needs a few more days rest," Nori said, as much to try and assure herself as Tomoe. After telling Hinaichigo to behave herself, Tomoe left with Nori to go to school. Hina and Souseiseki waved them both off. Once the door was shut, Hina glanced sideways at her sister.

"Souseiseki, where's Shinku and Suiseiseki?"

"In the living room. Nori made you something to eat if you're hungry."

They were indeed in the living room, and Hinaichigo made sure they both knew that she'd arrived by jumping up and down and shouting a greeting to them. Suiseiseki, who was watching television, gave a half-hearted reply, but Shinku was silent.

"Shinku! Shinku?" Hinaichigo stared up at her stern sister, who was currently seated in one of the chairs with her nose in a book. She seemed to be oblivious to everything around her. Souseiseki sighed.

"You're wasting your time; that ones been reading Father's journal ever since we got back."

"Unyuu? Father's journal?"

"She found it in his old room. I don't know what's so interesting about it, she won't let any of us read it. Come on, you might as well eat. The Kunkun show won't be on until later."

The general mood in the Sakurada household had not been a pleasant one since their return. They had no idea who had stolen Pandora's Box and thus no clue how to get it back. Jun was curled up in bed, still trembling with fright days after the whole incident, and even Suiseiseki had to admit that she wanted him back to normal. Of course they all felt the absence of Father, who had brightened up their lives considerably the short time he had been here. Now he was gone again and, all in all, things were pretty bleak.

The telephone rang. Desperate for some kind of distraction, Suiseiseki announced that she would get it. It took a bit of effort for her to actually reach it, but whoever was calling was evidently patient and didn't hang up despite the time it took her. She cradled the receiver in her tiny hands.

"Hello? Who's calling?"

"This is Mrs Sakurada. Who is this?"

"Huh? _Mrs_ Sakurada?" Suiseiseki parroted, not understanding. It obviously wasn't Nori as she'd left for school and didn't sound anything like this person. She wasn't married either. Jun didn't have any other sisters did he?

"Jun and Nori's _mother_," the exasperated voice on the phone clarified. This startled the doll so much that she fumbled the receiver and very nearly dropped it on the floor. She hastily adjusted her grip and held it tight, staring off into space with her mouth open. Jun's mother! Wow. He actually _had_ a mother? Oh wait, of course he did. She'd seen the family pictures, not to mention that whole Kohaku fiasco. Still, it was easy to forget she really existed. What should she do?

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Mrs Sakurada asked after Suiseiseki had been silent for just a tad too long. For a moment Suiseiseki panicked, unsure what to do. Then she realised that it was a _telephone_, and that Eiko Sakurada couldn't see her. She could quite easily pretend to be a human and the lady wouldn't know she was actually a doll. Ha! This could be _fun!_

"Sorry, I'm still here! Umm, Nori is at school right now. You just missed her actually. As for the ru-" she paused and then mentally shifted gears. She couldn't call Jun a 'runt' whilst talking to his mother. She coughed before continuing. "_Jun_ is in bed."

"Oh? What's the matter? Nori said he was back at school. And who exactly is this?"

"I'm Suiseiseki of course, Jun's ... girlfriend!" Suiseiseki clamped a hand over her mouth after she said this in order to stifle a laugh. At last, a chance to cheer herself up with some fun. "Jun isn't feeling well today," she continued, "so I totally offered to take the day off and look after the hopeless dolt."

"Jus has a _girlfriend?_" Eiko asked in astonishment, "Well I ... that's ... how wonderful! It's nothing serious is it? His illness I mean, not your relationship ... of course if the two of you are serious you should say, I mean-"

Suiseiseki stared at the wall while Jun's mother went on. The woman could talk. She cut in as soon as she saw an opportunity. "Oh he's completely fine Mrs Sakurada! Don't worry about a thing. With Suiseiseki on the job he'll be right as rain in no time. It's not like this is the first time I've had to take care of him, after all."

"What do you mean?"

The devious Gardener doll struggled not to chuckle at her own malicious brilliance. Time for a little payback for calling her a rotten demonic doll so many times! She grinned in such a way that had Jun been there to see her, he'd probably run a mile in the opposite direction. "Nothing really. I mean there was that time he passed out from a nosebleed after he spied my sister and I in the bath together."

"W-what?" Eiko gasped, potentially horrified and astounded by her claim, "I ... don't know what to say."

"It was no big deal Mrs Sakurada. I mean I so don't mind if your son gets off on seeing me naked, he is my boyfriend after all. I just never expected such an _emphatic_ reaction. He must be very taken with me! Of course he's quite sweet too."

"He ... he is?"

"Mmhmm! After all, he reads me a bedtime story every night before we go to sleep."

Before _we_ go to sleep! Ha! She was especially proud of slipping that in, since it obviously implied that they slept in the same room together. Which was of course true, they did. And Jun did read her a bedtime story most nights. But then often the best way to lie was to tell the truth, as contrary as that sounded. Oh, Jun would be livid when she told him about this conversation! He wouldn't be moping in bed for much longer. And given the way Eiko had treated Kohaku, Suiseiseki didn't feel bad about giving her a shock either. It was win-win really.

"I see," Eiko said at last, once she'd gotten over her initial surprise at Suiseiseki's words, "Well I ... I hope he hasn't, err, acted inappropriate in any way towards you. He is a growing boy, after all."

Suiseiseki giggled, despite herself. "I wouldn't worry about _that_, Mrs Sakurada, Jun is very in touch with his feminine side."

"In what way?" Eiko enquired, with the kind of tone that suggested she was dreading what might come next. Suiseiseki's grin would have scared a shark away.

"He never said? I swear, I _told_ him he should tell you about it. Honestly, that boy ... well, I'm sure he wont mind me mentioning it. Your son likes to dress up in girls clothes and have his picture taken. He even modeled for a girls fashion magazine. He was quite popular apparently. He's considering taking it up as a career."

The worlds most mischievous doll listened intently for the sound of Eiko Sakurada fainting and hitting the floor. Alas, the sound never came. Instead there was laughter. Suiseiseki would have preferred hysterical laughter, but Eiko actually sounded amused.

"Really? My little Jun-kun? Well, who would have guessed ..." she chuckled, "I'd quite like to see that. He always was a cute one. Of course I'm biased, but as his girlfriend I'm sure you agree."

She didn't mind? That wasn't right, she was supposed to be freaked out or something! Suiseiseki frowned, slightly annoyed. She had to think up something else. Maybe she could mention the fact that Jun had slept with her father. She did have a picture to prove it after all.

Before she could proceed further with her evil scheme, Eiko finished laughing over the news that her son wanted to be a female fashion model, and then dropped this bombshell on the stunned doll; "Anyway, I just called up to give Jun and Nori the good news. We've got some vacation time coming up, so the two of us will be back soon. Do you think you could tell them both? I'm sure they'll be thrilled. Well, I hope they will ..."

Suiseiseki mumbled something that might have been a yes, she was too dumbfounded to notice. Jun's parents ... Jun's _parents_ were coming back? Well ... damn.

"I'm really looking forwards to meeting you Miss Suiseiseki," Eiko went on, "Give my love to Jun and Nori, will you? And give Jun a big kiss to make him feel better; I'm sure he'll appreciate it."

Suiseiseki hung up the phone after squeaking out a goodbye, her entire body numb. Inside, some part of her mind was screaming very loudly. Making fun of Jun to his mother had seemed like a really good idea ... until said mother decided she was going to visit. What was she going to do? What were _all_ of them going to do? How exactly would Jun's parents react when they returned home and found that their son and daughter were co-habiting with a bunch of magical living dolls?

She turned slowly around, and through the haze of shock Suiseiseki was dimly aware that everyone was looking at her, even Shinku. They'd overheard her end of the phone conversation and were now treating her to highly questioning looks that she almost failed to notice.

"What?" she said.


	41. EP10: Conflicted

Sorry this update took so long, busy busy. This chapter is kinda all over the place. It starts off silly, then serious, then silly again. Eh. I just put my fingers to the keyboard and see what shows up.

Okay, so I updated the first chapter of this fic to include a disclaimer about the yuri. I'm going to go ahead and repeat it here: This fic contains yuri, twincest, incest and general silliness. If you don't like any of that stuff then just don't read this fic. Makes sense, right? If a fic has elements I don't like then I don't read it. Sorry I didn't put these disclaimers in from the very start, I should have. At the time I didn't think there'd be that much. Now though anyone who reads this for the first time will be warned. Steer clear if you don't like.

I really am going to try and get Wizard of Oz updated at some point. I might try and do that next before I update this again. Many thanks for the reviews, keep 'em coming! If you've written a fic yourself you know how great it is to get feedback. So, um ... please read and enjoy!

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Marchen**

EPISODE TEN

Conflicted

* * *

"One final thing," the teacher announced, pausing to clear his throat before continuing, "High school entrance exams will begin at the end of next month. Therefore it's very important that you all study extra hard if you want to make it into your school of choice. That is all."

Tomoe stared off into space, momentarily shocked by this piece of news. In the background she was dimly aware of the bell ringing and the rest of the class getting up to go. Entrance exams! That was bad news. Not so much for her, but for Jun. The main reason Jun had dropped out of school in the first place was because he had spectacularly failed an entrance exam, despite being billed by the teachers as one of the top students in the entire country. It had humiliated him so much that he'd completely broken down.

It was probably a good thing that Jun hadn't come in today. Tomoe didn't think he'd be able to cope with the news on top of everything else he had to deal with. She was going to have to tell him though, and that ... wouldn't be easy.

"Hello? Earth to Tomoe?"

She blinked and looked up to see Tsuzuki standing there clutching her books and frowning. "What's eating you, Tomo?" she asked, "Don't tell me you're scared about the entrance exams."

Tomoe gathered up her things and shook her head. "No, it's not that. I'm just worried about Sakurada, that's all."

Tsuzuki broke into a sly grin and gently nudged Tomoe as she headed for the door. "You're still carrying a torch for him, aren't you?" she teased, "I can't say I blame you. He's not exactly like other boys ..."

As the two girls wound through the endless corridors, Tomoe became aware of hushed whispers and knowing looks cast in her direction. Gossip was flying around school after the play, and Tomoe had been bombarded by a relentless flood of questions from people since Monday. Everyone wanted to know what had really happened, wanted to know about the dolls and Jun. No one was buying the story that Jun was simply 'off sick'.

She spotted trouble ahead in the form of a group of guys. She recognised them; they were in her class. One of them had been giving her odd looks the entire day. The boy in question, Onota, was showing something to the others. When he spotted Tomoe approach he nodded to them and then strode over to meet her.

"Hey, Kashiwaba! Just a sec!"

Tomoe and Tsuzuki stopped as he came over to them, and Tomoe saw that the thing he was holding was a magazine. Specifically the one that featured her and Jun on the front cover. She had a bad feeling about this.

"What is it?" Tomoe asked, keeping her voice carefully neutral, something she was very good at. Onota held the magazine up before her so she could get a good look at it. Tomoe's heart sank a little as she saw the shrewd look on his face. If he had figured out that the second model was actually Jun ... as it was Jun might just barely cope with the news that entrance exams were only a month or so away. If word got out about this though, it would send him over the edge. He'd be out of school for good. "Yes?" he said innocently.

"Rumour has it that the girl you modeled with is Sakurada's cousin. That true?" Onota asked, watching her reaction carefully. Tomoe struggled to remain calm. She nodded.

"Yes, that's right."

"Really ..." Onota lowered the magazine and glanced at the cover for a moment, "So what's her name?"

"What?" Tomoe was momentarily thrown by the question. Onota peered at her and presented the magazine once more.

"Her name. She must have a name, surely?" he asked.

"Y-yes, she does."

"So what is it?"

"Her name?"

"Yes!"

"Oh," Tomoe's mind reeled as she fought to conjure up a name off the top of her head. It wasn't that easy. "Umm ... A-Akane. Akane Sakurada."

"Akane, huh?" Onota fixed his attention back on the cover of the magazine and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, all the while Tomoe desperately tried to think up some excuse to save Jun any embarrassment over this. Maybe she could just flat out deny it? It wasn't as if he had any proof. But then he wouldn't need any, all he'd need to do was spread the word and that would be enough. Onota rolled the magazine up abruptly and folded his arms. "So ... she seeing anyone?"

Tomoe stared. What? Seeing ... what? She frowned. "I'm sorry?" she said, not understanding his meaning.

"I think he wants to ask her out," Tsuzuki suggested. Onota nodded his assent.

"Yeah. If she's not with anyone at the moment, I was hoping you could get me her number. Or maybe give her mine? Put in a good word even?"

Tomoe stared some more. Oh. Oh god. He hadn't figured it out at all. He thought it really was Jun's cousin and he wanted to ask her out on a date! Well that wasn't exactly what she'd been expecting. Tomoe smiled nervously at first, though her smile quickly vanished as she realised that Onota was still waiting for an answer. What should she say? She didn't think Jun would exactly appreciate her hooking him up on a date with another guy. Despite his taste in girls clothes he didn't seem that way inclined, not if his feelings towards Shinku were anything to go by.

"Well Tomo?" Tsuzuki prompted when she'd been silent for a while, "You gonna keep Onota in suspense forever?"

"Umm, well ..." Tomoe hesitated, still not sure what to say, "She's not exactly seeing anyone right now ..." It probably wouldn't be a good idea to mention Shinku.

"Great!" Onota extended his arms and grinned, "Then you'll set me up with her?"

As it was she was going to have to tell Jun about the entrance exams at some point. Somehow she didn't think it would help matters if she added 'By the way Jun, I gave Onota your number, he wants to go out with you, 'k, bye now!'. Tomoe frowned again. "Actually, I don't think I can."

Onota's arms and face sagged at the news. "Why not?"

Good question. Why not? 'Because she's actually your classmate Jun crossdressing' was probably not the best response. So think of something else instead. Anything. Just say something. Tomoe rubbed the back of her head and winced slightly. "She's gay."

"She's what?"

"Yes. Sorry. She prefers girls."

"Really?" said Tsuzuki, staring at Tomoe in astonishment. Despite being close friends with Tomoe, Tsuzuki did not know the truth, and so was as surprised as Onota was. Onota groaned and rolled his eyes before shoving the magazine towards Tsuzuki, who took it from him.

"Figures," he muttered, "all the good looking ones are."

As the two girls watched him turn and go, shoulders slumped, Tsuzuki held out the magazine and regarded the front cover thoughtfully for a moment. "Hey, Tomo?"

"What is it?" asked Tomoe, relieved that the whole situation had blown over and that she didn't have to give Jun anymore bad news. Tsuzuki grinned and held the magazine up.

"Can I have her number?" she asked.

* * *

Shinku peered over the top of her book and blankly observed Suiseiseki as she paced back and forth around the living room in a panic. The situation was unexpected, certainly, however Shinku found that she would actually quite like to meet Jun and Nori's parents. Granted she would prefer it if they didn't believe Suiseiseki to be Jun's girlfriend ...

Normally Shinku would have taken issue at that. She wasn't oblivious to the fact that Suiseiseki held a great deal of affection for Jun, loathe though the Gardener doll was to admit it. Suiseiseki's feelings towards Jun were ... mixed to say the least. He was her current master after all, and she craved his attention. She'd even admitted to Shinku that she felt a little jealous of the attention Jun paid her.

Despite that, and the ... questionable conversation Suiseiseki had just held with Eiko Sakurada, Shinku was not overly concerned. Actually, she _was_ concerned, but about something else entirely. Something had been troubling her for several days now. Something that she couldn't get out of her head no matter how she tried.

_"Shinku ... if I could choose any Rozen Maiden to become Alice, I would choose you."_

Father's words lingered in Shinku's memory like the fragrance of a newly bloomed rose, and brought colour to her cheeks whenever she thought about them. Since she was thinking about them a lot, she had resorted to hiding her face behind a book. The book in question was one of Father's journals, which she had recovered from the Rozen Estate prior to their departure from Lebensbaum. She had read through it several times, and the contents did nothing to ease her troubled feelings.

The journal was more like a notebook, with random observations and thoughts scattered throughout under various headings. Two in particular held Shinku's interest over all the rest, and she had read through them more than a dozen times now. As Suiseiseki continued to have a panic attack at the prospect of meeting Jun's parents face to face, Shinku read through the relevant passages once more.

_Rosa Mystica_

_Alchemy defines matter into two main categories. Prima Materia, which is all matter as we understand it, and Ultima Materia. Ultima Materia is a metaphysical state of matter artificially achieved through alchemical transmutation, and is perfection itself. It is flawless, untouched by the flow of time or the ravages of entropy._

_Alice cannot exist in reality because she is perfect, and perfection cannot exist within the confines of normal matter. Thus, in order to create Alice, I first created the Rosa Mystica._

_The Rosa Mystica is a gemstone composed of pure Ultima Materia. It is not unlike an embryo or an egg, similar in nature to the philosophers stone used in the creation of an Homunculus - an artificial life form._

_Once created, I took the Rosa Mystica into my dream world and fused Alice into it. I then returned to the real world and waited. In truth I knew my plan was doomed to fail, because my visit to the future when I was a boy showed me that it would not succeed. Nevertheless I am puzzled as to why it did not work. Why did the Rosa Mystica not give life to Alice? I have no explanation for the failure. Fate itself is no reason. I do not understand it._

_In the end I did as I knew I must - I split the Rosa Mystica into seven fragments and used each fragment to give life to one of my dolls. Thus each and every one of my beloved children carries a piece of Alice within them. Indeed, they themselves are a part of Alice, as the Rosa Mystica are the source of their very existence, the core of their being._

_Alice_

_"Alice is more noble than any flower, more pure than any jewel. She is absolutely unspoiled. A girl so beautiful, so sublime, that no girl in the world could hold a candle to her."_

_Those are the words my daughters used to describe Alice to me. Even though I knew I was destined to fall in love with her, I never quite believed them._

_Until I met her._

_Alice exists within my dreams. When I began to dream of a wondrous girl that might perhaps be the fabled Alice I had heard so much about, I plucked up the courage and summoned the artificial spirits Lempicka and Sui-Dream. Opening a doorway into my dream world, I was able to enter my dreams in a lucid state and at last meet Alice face to face for the first time._

_She was everything my daughters said and more._

_Alice is a part of me. She is my anima - an archetype of the psyche, of my unconscious mind. She is the embodiment of the very best aspects I possess, a being of pure virtue and benevolence. She is perfect._

_I fell in love with her, just as my future self said I would. I am aware that, as Alice is a part of me, loving her is inherently narcissistic. I simply don't care. Speaking with her is like speaking to a unique individual, entirely separate from myself, even though her essence is distilled from my own heart._

_I knew then why I was willing to go to such lengths to make her a reality. A real girl. My desire to bring Alice into this world has driven me to create the Rozen Maidens. My hopes and dreams now rest on them. They truly are my children. Even though I am physically incapable of creating children in the normal sense, the Rozen Maidens all possess a fragment of Alice, and as such they all have a part of me within them as well._

_I love all of my daughters dearly, yet Shinku ... of all the Rozen Maidens, Shinku has her eyes. When I look into Shinku's eyes, I see Alice staring back at me. A father should never favour one child over another, but I cannot help myself._

_Oh Shinku ..._

Shinku closed the journal and set it down on her lap. She'd read those passages over and over again, yet every time the words still touched her heart. She had no idea that Father felt as he did about her. That he treasured her because she reminded him so of Alice. And whilst Shinku was no more Alice than any of her sisters, Father had still whispered to her that it was _her _he wanted to become Alice. It made Shinku dizzy just thinking about it.

She slipped down from the chair and strode past Suiseiseki, who stopped her frantic rant to stare at Shinku as she went by. She climbed the stairs and entered Jun's room, the book still clutched in her arms. Jun was in bed, his back to the room. He neither moved nor made a sound. Shinku felt a stab of guilt as she watched him lie there. He had almost died because of her. His desire to help Shinku and her sisters end the Alice Game had nearly cost him his life. She should never have placed him in such danger.

Shinku crossed to the shelf where her things were gathered and carefully slid the journal into the perfectly sized gap waiting for it. Then she turned her attention to Suiseiseki's shelf space and her brilliant blue eyes fixed upon a framed photograph there. It was the picture Suiseiseki had snapped of Jun and Father in bed together. Jun had wanted to tear the thing up when he first saw it, but Shinku had pointed out that it was the only picture of Father they had, and he reluctantly relented.

Shinku picked it up and stared at it for a very long time. It showed the two people she loved most in all the world. The two people she was _in_ love with. Never before had she stopped to think about how her growing feelings towards Jun might relate to Father and her quest to become Alice. Now though, Father's words to her before he left, and the writings in his journal both forced her to confront her own feelings.

"Shinku?"

She spun and saw that Souseiseki was standing in the doorway, holding the door open with her hands. Souseiseki noticed the picture Shinku was holding and regarded he curiously. Not wanting to disturb Jun, Shinku joined her sister in the hallway outside the bedroom and shut the door.

"Shinku, something is bothering you, I can tell," said Souseiseki matter of factly. Her tone was soft and kind though, and she only wanted to help. Shinku clutched the framed picture in both hands and gazed at it with a faraway look in her eyes.

"Yes," he said slowly, "I have been thinking. I am sure it is no secret to you that I care a great deal for Jun. I have even entertained thoughts of living our lives together," her hands tightened around the picture frame and her expression became suddenly pained, "Yet recent events have reminded me that I am a Rozen Maiden, and that it is my duty to strive towards becoming Alice. Should that ever transpire, it is with Father I would spend my life, not Jun."

Souseiseki folded her arms and frowned. "I see. It bothers you then that your love for Jun conflicts with your duty as a Rozen Maiden."

Shinku sank down onto her knees and nodded. She couldn't take her eyes off the picture before her. The picture of Jun and Rozen. She felt torn between the two of them. Was this how Jun had felt when Kirakishou tried to force him to choose between her and Tomoe? If so then Shinku pitied him greatly, because she would not wish this pain on anyone.

"I know what you're going through, Shinku," Souseiseki assured her. She knelt down beside Shinku and fixed her mismatching gaze on the picture as well. "It was a similar feeling that drove me to fight all of you last year. I cared for Suiseiseki as much as Father, perhaps more so, but I felt that my duty as a Rozen Maiden came before my own personal desires."

"You and Suiseiseki have often spoken of your wish to be married to one another," said Shinku quietly, "Am I to take it then that you have abandoned your duty as a Rozen Maiden in favour of living your life with her?"

Souseiseki flinched at her words. Of all the dolls she had perhaps the strongest sense of duty, yet Shinku nevertheless spoke the truth. It still pained her a little to hear it laid out so clearly though. "Yes. In the end I realised that I couldn't hurt Suiseiseki, even for Father's sake. I couldn't become Alice."

"And does that not trouble you?"

"It did," Souseiseki admitted, "I felt as if I was betraying Father by choosing Suiseiseki over him. But ... before he left us, he told me that he didn't mind. He also told me to place my own happiness before his," she turned to her sister and gently placed her hands on Shinku's shoulders in order to get her full attention, "So you see Shinku, it's okay. Father won't mind if you want to be with Jun. He just wants us all to be happy. Let Suigintou or one of the others become Alice."

Shinku couldn't meet her gaze, couldn't look her in the eye. She felt as if guilt was consuming her from the inside, her Rosa Mystica burning to a painful degree. She couldn't tell Souseiseki what Father had said to her, or what he had written in his journal. He might be fine with the twins forgoing their duty as Rozen Maidens, but he had told Shinku that he wanted _her_ to become Alice. He saw her as Alice, and she was his choice to become his dream girl. She couldn't ignore that.

What could she do? What _should_ she do? If asked whom she loved more - Jun or Rozen, Shinku honestly could not give an answer. She didn't know. Perhaps there was no answer. And if it came down to a choice on her part - to fulfill her duty as a Rozen Maiden and make Father happy, or abandon her duty to make Jun happy - she didn't know which choice she would make. Uncertainty seared itself into her mind, and she couldn't help but wish that she could see a third choice. One of Jun's alternatives that he always insisted existed in such circumstances. Another possibility. He had always managed to find one.

Could she? Or would she ultimately be forced to choose between the two boys caught slumbering together in the picture she held tightly in her grip ...

* * *

The Sakurada household received a surprising visit from Mitsu, who showed up with Kanaria in tow later that evening. She had made an interesting discovery which she was sure would interest them.

"It's a doll auction," she explained, spinning her laptop around so they could all see, "Kanaria told me about that Pandora doll you guys were chasing after, so I posted a query about it on some of the doll websites I frequent. Someone sent me this link."

It was a news bulletin posted about a day ago, stating that the famous German doll collector Eike Grimm was auctioning off the legendary doll Pandora. The action was going to be held in Japan at the end of the week. There was a photograph attached to the article, and yes, it was none other than Pandora's Box.

"Wait a second ..." Suiseiseki tapped her finger against her chin thoughtfully, "Grimm ... Grimm ... that's it!" she exclaimed suddenly, "I so totally remember where I heard that name before! Shinku, do you remember that book Barasuishou gave you?"

"Yes," said Shinku, "It was from that we learned of the existence of Pandora."

"Right! And it was written by a guy named Eike Grimm. Barasuishou said he was a friend of her father, Enju."

"So that must be the guy that hired those men to steal it from us," Souseiseki added, "But why would he go to such lengths to get the Box if he only wanted to sell it? There must be easier ways of making money."

"He does not have the key," Shinku pointed out, "And without it he cannot open the Box. No doubt this auction is merely bait intended to draw out whoever possesses the key he seeks."

"Wow," Micchan chirped brightly, "You guys are _so_ smart!"

Suieiseki laughed and extended her hands as if to suggest this was obvious, "Well of course we are!"

So now they knew who had the Box, and more, knew where it would be come the end of the week. All they had to do was come up with a plan to sneak into the auction and grab the Box without getting caught. Normally something like this would be childsplay to the magical Rozen Maidens, who had any number of extraordinary methods at their disposal, however this was different. Their opponent had already shown himself to be aware of such methods, and would presumably have safeguards to protect against them. As it was, they already suspected that the auction was a trap.

No, this would be anything but simple or easy. If they wanted to get the Box and escape in one piece, they would have to devise an especially ingenious scheme. Souseiseki said as much just as Kanaria appeared carrying a tea tray.

"Well of course you will!" she announced as she set the tray down on the coffee table, "Luckily I, Kanaria, have concocted a fiendishly brilliant plan that will guarantee success! It's a sure thing, y'know?"

"Excuse me if we don't all jump for joy, ya big forehead," Suiseiseki muttered, crossing her arms and sticking her nose in the air. Kanaria ground her teeth and snarled at the doll, but swiftly recovered her composure. She passed one of the teacups to Shinku with a smile.

"The first stage of my plan will require your assistance, Shinku," Kanaria informed the crimson Maiden.

"I shall endeavor to do my best," Shinku assured her as she took the offered tea, "May I enquire what is needed of me?"

Now Kanaria seemed a little apprehensive. She curled her hands up and pressed them together nervously. "Well ... lets just say your Medium isn't going to be very happy about it ..."

* * *

It was the following morning and Jun awoke slowly. He had not slept at all well. Nightmares again. They'd been especially strong and vivid last night. So vivid in fact that they had actually _hurt_. He'd tossed and turned in his sleep, wracked with pain, too exhausted to awake and escape the terrible dreams.

He groaned and stretched. And stretched. He stretched so much that his legs ended up dangling over the edge of his bed. It took his sleep addled brain several long seconds to realize this fact, and longer still to comprehend it. In fact he felt quite strange, now that he was slowly starting to awake. Something was ... off.

Jun sat up and rubbed his eyes. At least, he _tried_ to rub his eyes, and missed. This was owing to his arms being altogether too long and his head and face being a good deal higher than they should be. This made no sense whatsoever, to Jun or anyone trying to analyse the situation. Things became a little more clear when he finally opened his eyes wide and glanced down at himself.

Okay, first thoughts; his clothes had shrunk. They were far too tight and were up to his knees and elbow. Yes, his clothes had shrunk. No, wait, they hadn't. They hadn't shrunk at all. No.

He had _grown_.

A lot.

"What the-" Jun held his hands up and examined them. They were a good deal bigger than he remembered. In fact his entire body was a good deal bigger than he recalled. Confusion turned to realization and realization turned to stark horror as Jun came to understand that, somehow, he had grown considerably over the course of one night.

Panic starting to grip his mind, he launched himself out of bed for the first time in days and promptly fell flat on his face. Getting to his feet, the haze of panic blotting out the sudden stinging pain, Jun bolted out of his bedroom and made straight for the bathroom. The feeling of weirdness grew with every passing second until at last he made it to a mirror and stared at himself.

Jun Sakurada was now an adult. He screamed.


	42. EP10: Growing Pains

**Rozen Maiden: Marchen**

EPISODE TEN

Growing Pains

* * *

The dolls were gathered around Jun's bed, the cold light of the moon painting the room in a silvery white hue. They waited in hushed silence for Shinku to take a step forwards and do what needed to be done. When she remained motionless for some time, Kanaria leaned towards her and whispered in a low voice.

"What's wrong, Shinku? Can't you do it?"

Shinku frowned. "It is not that. I just wonder ... is this the right thing to do?"

"What d'you mean?"

The sight of Jun's slumbering form reflected in the blue pools of Shinku's eyes as she recalled the state he had been in following the confrontation at Lebensbaum. Humans were ultimately more fragile than dolls, for whilst a doll could be repaired and brought back from the darkness by a sufficiently talented individual, nothing could restore a lost human soul to its rightful place. It galled Shinku to think that if just one of the many bullets fired had found Jun, he might not be here anymore. To think that he had come so close to losing everything because of her ...

"We need to snap the puny runt out of the wretched state he's in," Suiseiseki hissed, sensing Shinku's doubt, "If he gives up on life again then he's as good as broken!"

Which was true, she conceded. And they would need his help again, dangerous though the task was, if they ever hoped to reclaim Pandora's Box. The Box contained their only hope, both figuratively and literally. Without it their only option would be to either fight the Alice Game or spend an age searching for some other possible alternative, assuming one even existed.

Shinku steeled herself and took a step forwards, raising her hand as she did so. This was going to hurt Jun a good deal, as it would require a tremendous amount of his energy to work. She had to be extremely careful, not only to avoid draining him completely (and thus killing him outright), but also to ensure she didn't overshoot. One mistake and she could end up turning Jun into a wrinkled old man.

But then, as Father had pointed out, time _was_ her specialty. Time to work a little magic ...

Shinku concentrated, and as she did so the rose ring on her finger flared a brilliant ruby red. Jun's did likewise as her ring began drawing power from his, and her Medium groaned in his sleep and tossed fitfully, the transfer of energy burning him with pain.

* * *

Jun stared at himself in the mirror. It was hard to reconcile the difference between the face staring back at him and the face he had last seen in the mirror. At first he was certain that it was the face of a complete stranger, yet his subconscious mind nagged at him that there was _just_ a hint of similarity to be found.

But what a difference. Good grief. Breathing heavily, panting even, Jun pressed his newly aged hands to his soft face, unable to look away from his reflection. Good _grief!_ Look at his hair! He removed his hands and touched his now long, shiny black hair, just to be certain it was real. It was, and it very nearly reached his waist in terms of length. His nails were ridiculously long too, as if he hadn't cut them in a very long time. His overall build was slender, and if he'd been hoping to beef up a little as he grew up then he was sorely disappointed.

"Jun-kun, what's the matter?" Nori cried out, alarmed by the scream he had so recently released throughout the house, "Are you ohhh-_kay_ ...?" she stopped as she reached the open bathroom doorway and stared at her little brother. More like her _big_ brother now. She raised a hand to her gaping mouth as Jun turned to regard her. "Jun ... kun?"

"Nori, _please_ tell me this is a dream," Jun begged, "Or a nightmare. This can't be real. It just can't!"

"Oh, so you're finally up and out of bed!" a familiar voice announced cheerfully, "I swear human, I thought you were so totally going to stay in your room until you rotted away into a withered old husk!" Suiseiseki appeared beside Nori's leg and stuck her hands on her hips as if Jun's sudden change in appearance was nothing unusual. Shinku soon joined her and gazed up at Jun. She had to peer upwards a bit more than usual, owing to his increased height.

"You! You rotten dolls did this, didn't you?" Jun snapped, suddenly furious. He pointed accusingly at them for a second and then gestured to indicate himself. "What the _hell_ did you _do_ to me?"

"It's nothing to get worked up about," said Suiseiseki matter-of-factly, "Shinku just wound your time key forwards by about ten years or so."

Jun gaped at her for a long, incredulous moment, while Souseiseki appeared in the doorway, stifling a yawn. She blinked once and then noticed Jun, prompting her eyes to go wide at the sight of him.

"Wow, Jun ..." she said, soft spoken as usual, "I didn't expect you to look so ... so ..." she faltered, unsure what word to use to describe Jun's new appearance. Nori however managed to find one just fine.

"_Bishie!_" she squealed, her eyes positively glowing with delight. She flung herself at her (now) big brother and wrapped her arms around him as if he were some adorable puppy she'd just been given as a gift. Since Jun was now taller than Nori, he glared down at her in irritation and struggled to pry her off. Sadly just being an adult did not make Jun any stronger than he normally was, and thus he was still, as Suiseiseki would aptly put it, puny.

"Will you get _off_ me! Dammit Nori, I am not a teddy bear!"

Suiseiseki chuckled and turned to Shinku, an impish smirk on her face. "Well Shinku, I'd say you did a fine job. Even though Jun looks about as manly as a fluffy mewling kitten, he can at least pass for an adult."

"Perhaps in terms of physical appearance," Shinku admitted, "Though his behaviour still leaves much to be desired. I fear it will take some considerable work before he is ready ..."

* * *

It took them all a while, but they finally managed to calm Jun down long enough to explain the situation. Grumbling profusely, Jun sat down to breakfast and listened as they outlined what Micchan and Kanaria had learned, as well as some of the details surrounding Kanaria's supposedly brilliant plan.

Basically they needed to get into the doll auction (which was tomorrow afternoon, so time was short), and steal the Box right out from under Grimm and his lackeys. Problem was he'd already shown that he knew of the existence of the Rozen Maidens and was more than capable of dealing with the dolls. He'd be ready for them to try something. The whole thing was surely a trap after all.

So they needed human assistance. Jun though was too young to go traveling about the country, sneaking into auction houses. Plus there was the danger of him being recognised by one of Eike's hired goons. So Kanaria had come up with an idea to solve both problems: age Jun ten years or so to adulthood so that he and Micchan could pose as buyers in order to get into the auction. Simple.

"You can reverse it, right Shinku?" Jun enquired suspiciously as he pushed aside his finished breakfast. Shinku lowered her tea and turned her head slightly to regard him.

"Of course. However the process uses up a great deal of your energy, so I would not recommend doing so until we have completed the plan."

Jun sulked. Nobody cared, they were all far too happy to finally see him out of bed and out of his room. If nothing else his bizarre predicament had snapped him out of the fear induced coma that nearly being killed had put him in, and he was back to acting like his old self. And his old self was not remotely happy about the situation at all.

"Stop _staring_ at me, will you?" Jun muttered, blushing and turning away from his sister, who couldn't stop gazing in wonder at him. Nori wailed.

"Oh, I'm sorry Jun-kun, I cant help myself. You're just so ... so _pretty!_"

Jun groaned and wilted, eyes closed and cheeks burning red. He did his best to ignore Suiseiseki sniggering at Nori's comment, but his best just wasn't good enough. "I'm a _guy_," he protested, "Guys are supposed to be handsome, _not_ pretty." He scowled and looked down at his slender build and long hair. "I can't believe this is what I'm gonna look like when I grow up ..." he murmured. Shinku heard, despite his lowered voice.

"I believe you look quite attractive, Jun," she said nonchalantly as she took another sip of her tea. Jun and Suiseiseki both gaped at the crimson doll.

"You do?" said Jun, astonished.

"You _do?_" said Suiseiseki, incredulous. Shinku set her cup down once more and regarded Jun with her typically blank expression.

"Of course; you have an air of elegance about you now that is quite becoming," she said in all seriousness, "If only you could refine your mannerisms and learn to control your otherwise vexing and uncouth behaviour, you would make a first rate servant."

Jun's expression transformed from one of startled amazement into that of someone who just realised that a compliment being paid to them was not quite so complimentary after all. "Thanks Shinku," he muttered, his voice deadpan. Even though Jun had to periodically wind her up to keep her going, Shinku nevertheless proved that she was equally as adept at winding _him_ up when she wanted to.

"Come now," Shinku continued, "If you are to pose as a doll collector then you must look the part. We shall have to find you some appropriate attire."

Jun glanced down and took notice of the fact that he was still wearing his old clothes, which no longer fit him in the slightest. He frowned as an idea occurred to him. "Maybe some of my dad's things might fit me ..."

Ten minutes later and this idea was proven to be a dismal failure. His father's clothes were simply too big for him, even as he was now. Though he was currently the largest person in the house, Jun was still quite short and slim for your average adult. Just as he was cursing his ill luck, Nori appeared with an outfit slung over her arms and suggested he give it a try.

"Hey, it fits," Jun announced a few minutes later. He stood before the others, feeling slightly awkward, yet pleased that he was now wearing something that didn't feel as if it was cutting off the circulation in his arms and legs. As the dolls silently took in his appearance, Nori raised a hand to her mouth and giggled.

"I thought it might; it's mom's."

Jun glared at her, his facial expressions frozen as if they were now made of stone. One got the impression that if knocked over, Jun might shatter into a thousand jagged fragments. Before he could unfreeze and yell at the top of his voice, the doorbell rang. He still unfroze, but instead of freaking out over the fact that he was wearing his _mother's_ clothes, he waved his hands frantically. "Don't answer it Nori! Don't!"

Too late, Nori was already out of the living room and greeting whoever it was. Jun heard voices in the hallway and fervently searched for somewhere to hide. Anywhere. Before he could think to dive through the glass doors and make an overly dramatic escape, Nori returned with Tomoe in tow.

"Jun-kun, look who's here!"

For the second time in as many minutes Jun froze like a statue, his muscles suddenly refusing to cooperate at all, perhaps paralyzed by fear and embarrassment. He found himself staring across at Tomoe, who seemed shorter than he remembered. That was probably just his new perspective. Tomoe, for her part, stared back. He had to hand it to her; despite being utterly baffled by the sight of him she nevertheless managed to keep a very restrained look upon her face. Hinaichigo peered out from behind her and glanced up at Jun.

"Unyuu?" she said, which summed up the situation fairly well.

* * *

Dolls. Hundreds of dolls. Some lined shelves, some were in glass display cabinets, others still resided unseen within their own doll cases. They came in all shapes and sizes, with wildly varying outfits and hairstyles. Eike Grimm's personal collection. If you thought Micchan had a thing about dolls, then you'd clearly never set foot inside this room.

Were they all living dolls? How many of them had little keyholes in the back that would allow them to be wound up? Emil didn't know. All of the Enju dolls at any rate, and there were at least a dozen of those to be found in this collection. The rows of silent, unmoving figures stared at him as he strolled through the room, glancing about nervously as if afraid any one of them might spring to life and catch him.

It was a silly thing to think. He'd been in this room hundreds of times before. He wasn't afraid of dolls, in fact he very much liked them. No, what he was afraid of was getting _caught_, because this was the first time he'd come into this room with the intent to steal something. Perhaps because of that, he felt that the eyes of the dolls were watching him with disapproving looks, as if they could sense his intentions.

Emil was only twelve, but he'd already dealt with more strange things so far than most people encountered in their entire lives. Living dolls, alchemists, demons, alternate dimensions and artificial spirits ... he ought to be used to it all by now. Except in the past he'd always been an observer. Now he was making himself an active participant.

Now he was going to steal Pandora's Box.

The Box was sitting in a display case at the far end of the room, in an enclosed area separate from the dolls on show. As Emil entered the enclosed space and stepped up to the case, he caught a flash of movement from the corner of his eye. His heart raced suddenly and he almost cried out with fright, but quickly chided himself as he realised it was only his own reflection. There was a large ornate full-length mirror facing the Box. Emil stared at it and willed his thudding heart to calm down.

He was certainly an odd sight to see, with stone grey hair and equally colourless eyes. He was wearing a ruffled white shirt with a neckerchief and dark green shorts. If that wasn't enough to make one giggle, the knee-length frilly socks and shiny black buckled shoes ought to at least draw a smirk. Shockingly he'd picked it all out himself. It should be noted that he wasn't someone who got out and about very much.

The mirror was there for a reason. It was a potential doorway into the N-Field. Actually, that wasn't quite accurate. It was one way only. If anyone came through and then tried to re-enter the N-Field and, say, make off with a certain Box, they'd find themselves quite stuck. Eike fully expected someone to try and steal it, because he knew that someone out there had the key to the thing. That someone would surely come looking for the Box that their key unlocked, and when they did Eike intended to catch them.

Emil didn't have the key, but he was still going to take the Box. He knew about all the safeguards in place and _did_ have a key to unlock the glass display case without setting off any of the alarms and traps. This he did. The Box was heavier than he'd been expecting, but that was probably a good sign that it wasn't just an empty doll case.

"I can't believe I'm actually doing this ..." he whispered as he adjusted his grip on the Box and turned about, "If Eike finds out he'll kill me for sure."

A distinct possibility. Eike was obsessed with Pandora's Box. He'd been obsessed with it ever since Enju had told him about it. He believed it could grant his wish and transform one of his dolls into a real girl. Like the fairy godmother in Pinocchio. Emil disliked that story. In real life magical fairies spectacularly failed to appear and grant you a happy ending. If he'd learned anything it was that you had to earn your happy endings yourself. Stories with fairy godmothers were just honey coated lies that gave children false hope.

He trudged past the silent dolls, who watched his every move. At least it felt that way. Probably just the guilt he was feeling over stealing something this important. It couldn't be helped, and besides, Eike had stolen the Box himself. It wasn't his, and someone else needed it more than him.

Thankfully none of the dolls sprang to life and attacked him or shouted an alarm, and Emil was able to leave the room with his stolen doll case without trouble. Normally sneaking the thing off the estate grounds would be tricky, what with all the people walking about apt to spot him and say something. This was why he had waited until it was the dead of night to do his little moonlight heist. Nobody was wandering about the halls except him, and he wasn't so much wandering as he was striding purposely towards one of the back doors that he'd unlocked earlier. There _was_ the little issue of the security cameras planted throughout the building, but he wasn't too worried about those. Mainly because he had brought the men manning the security room drugged coffee earlier, and they were soundly snoozing at their stations.

Once outside, Emile made straight for the garden, and sure enough there she was waiting by the fountain - the little red-headed doll. Huffing from carrying the case so far (he was really out of shape, too much time spent reading books and playing video games), he stopped before her and sucked in a lungful of cool night air.

"Kohaku, I got it!" he exclaimed excitedly, presenting the Box to her. The Enju doll did not seem overly thrilled however, and he soon realised that she was watching something approach behind him. With a sinking feeling Emil turned and found himself staring down the barrel of a gun.

"Okay Sam, you win," said the leering figure of Max, "I didn't think the kid had the guts _or_ the smarts to pull it off."

Eike's two less than scrupulous hired guns stood several feet away. Max was the one pointing the gun, whilst the giant figure that was Sam merely scowled at Emil with his arms crossed. "The boss isn't going to like this," he said flatly, less than thrilled himself.

Emil was going to ask Kohaku if she could deal with them (they no longer had the barrier rings Eike had given them for the Lebensbaum job), but before he could utter a sound he felt a crushing hand clamp down on his shoulder and flinched with pain. The hand in question could quite easily have dislocated his shoulder entirely, and Emil got the feeling that any attempt on his part to break free would result in exactly that. He glanced up and found himself looking at the deeply unsettling face of Laplace no Ma. The tuxedo wearing demon had his scarlet eyes fixed on Max however, and seemed to be waiting expectantly for something.

"You have red on you," said Laplace. Max frowned, puzzled by this. There was a hazy and indistinct blur of movement around him and a moment later his crumpled shirt became stained with blood. Shocked, he fell to his knees as the shimmer of movement coalesced into the form of Rosetta. She stood several feet away, brandishing a gleaming rapier. Emil watched as a single drop of Max's blood dripped from the tip of the weapon and hit the ground.

Finally Max collapsed, his shirt now completely stained red, blood dribbling from the corners of his mouth. He gasped, seemingly confused by this turn of events. Eike Grimm appeared standing over him and glowered down at the mercenary with cold contempt. "Never point a gun at my brother," he said. He turned away as Max stopped gurgling and actually died, directing his attention towards Emil now.

"This isn't what it looks like," Emil protested feebly. His brother raised a suggestive eyebrow, prompting Emil to swallow. "Unless it looks like I'm trying to steal Pandora's Box and make off into the night with it, in which case it actually _is_ what it looks like ..."

A swarm of chains erupted out of the darkness and shot towards Rosetta, who promptly vanished. She appeared behind Kohaku and thrust her rapier towards the doll's back, intending to impale her. Having already been impaled on a sword once before, Kohaku was having none of this and spun around, catching the blade deftly with her hands. The two dolls locked eyes, their intent to fight clear.

"Enough!" Eike snapped irritably, "Rosetta, stand down."

Reluctantly the pink haired doll did as instructed and stepped away from Kohaku, lowering her rapier. This did not stop the two dolls from glaring at each other, but their battle had at least been postponed for the moment. Eike nodded and turned to Sam, gesturing to the fast cooling corpse of his former associate. "Get rid of the body, then tell the pilot to prep the jet; we're leaving for Japan first thing in the morning."

Sam went about his assigned task without a word. Max had been his friend, but he'd also been too reckless and hot headed for this job. Sam had warned him earlier to consider a new employer, but he had not listened. And now he'd pushed his luck too far and his gung-ho attitude had cost him his life.

As Emil watched Sam haul the body away, he wondered briefly if the same fate awaited himself. Eike crossed his arms and regarded his little brother sadly. "Emil ... I'm disappointed."

Why, thought Emil, because I stole from you or because I got caught? He decided to keep his mouth shut in the hopes of avoiding digging a deeper hole for himself. Eike glanced across at Kohaku and frowned.

"I don't understand," he said, clearly puzzled by something, "Why did you do it? Did she trick you into it?"

Emil's stance of keeping quiet failed to last past the five second mark and he blurted out a response in defence of the doll. "She told me the truth!" he hefted Pandora's Box, "The Rozen Maidens _need_ this to bring a peaceful end to the Alice Game. Without it they have no choice but to fight each other to the death. How can you stand by and let that happen when you have the means to stop it right here?"

Eike considered his words before regarding Kohaku shrewdly. "And what about you? What have you to say for yourself? You must have some angle here, something you're after."

Kohaku tore her gaze away from the prowling Rosetta and glared at Eike, her tiny hands clenched into fists. "I came to find my father. He was a friend of yours, I thought you might know what happened to him. When your brother told me about the Box though-"

"You couldn't help but fill his head with a tale of woe. I see. Well Laplace, little Kohaku here wants to see her father. Is that possible, do you suppose?"

"As surely as the promise of summer snow," replied the enigmatic demon. He raised a gloved hand and snapped his fingers, causing one of his trademark rabbit holes to open up directly beneath Kohaku. She barely had time to cry out before falling into it and vanishing from sight, the hole closing as swiftly as it had appeared. Emil gasped and made to run over to the place she'd just occupied, however Laplace still had a firm grip on his shoulder.

"Where is she? What did you do with her?" he demanded, frustrated at his own inability to _do_ anything about the situation. Behind him, Laplace's expression shifted into what might have been a smile.

"Her father is lost within a deep labyrinth. Perhaps she will be able to help him find his way out. Or perhaps the two shall be forever lost ... who can tell?"

As Rosetta dismissed her weapon and joined Eike, Emil bit his lip and lowered his gaze to the Box he still clutched in his weary hands. He wasn't going to cry, no matter what happened. "What are you going to do with me?" he asked quietly.

"Do?" said Eike, seemingly surprised by the question, "Nothing. Except send you to bed. It's well past your bedtime Emil," he sighed, "Laplace, let go of the poor boy, he's not going anywhere."

Emil felt the demon's hold on him vanish and he immediately winced and rolled his shoulder to get some of the feeling back into it. He treated the creepy white rabbit to a scowl, but Laplace seemed completely indifferent. Emil presented the Box to him grimly. "Here, take it - maybe one day you'll be able to open it and wish for a heart. Then again, I doubt that would do a demon like you any good."

Eike remained behind at the fountain with Laplace and sent Rosetta to take Emil to bed. As the two crossed the garden towards the waiting building, Rosetta glanced sideways at him, seemingly troubled by something. "Don't you want me to become human, Emil?" she asked, her tone suggesting that she genuinely wanted to know. Emil sighed and shook his head.

"It's not that Rosetta, it's just ... it's not right that those Rozen dolls have to fight each other. If you could help them out, wouldn't you?"

She stopped by the back door that Emil had slipped out of earlier and hesitated, considering the question for a moment. She then took a step back and looked up into the clear sky, gazing at the stars. "Maybe," she said, "But ... I want to be human more than anything in the world. I want to know what it's like to be truly alive, to be able to create life and give happiness to those I love. Cant you understand that?"

Emil leaned against the doorframe and stared at the curious little doll, his arms folded. "You _are_ alive, Rosetta," he pointed out, "And if you have to get sick, watch what you eat, grow old and eventually _die_ to feel truly alive, then count yourself lucky you're not. Hell, if I could I'd trade places with you in a heartbeat. You can have my humanity if I can be a doll like you."

Rosetta lowered her head and gaped at him, startled by such a claim. "You would _wish_ to be a doll?"

Emil frowned and stared off into space, thinking what it would be like. "Never having to grow up, grow old or change ... yeah, I think that'd be pretty nice. I'd like it if I could stay just the way I am now. Forever."

Rosetta tilted her head and smiled at him strangely. "Perhaps you will get your wish, Emil."

He scoffed and shook his head, "Wishes are for fairy tales."


	43. EP10: The Calm

Okay, I know this update took a long while. There are a few reasons for that. For one, I failed to make it to the shortlist for the writing competition I entered. Two months solid writing every day, down the drain. On top of that, someone looked at this fic and told me it was crap. Needless to say my confidence took a bit of a dive. But I'm not giving up. This is the last chapter of episode ten, meaning we're down to the final two episodes of this story before we reach the end. I'll be damned if I stop now.

Before I do the next chapter of this however, I will be starting a new Devil May Cry fic, as per a request. If you're interested in DMC at all, check it out if you like. As for the Wizard of Oz, I don't know when I will get around to that. I still haven't given up on it either, it's just not my highest priority atm, and I'm not in the right frame of mind for writing comedy.

So, enough waffle from me, here you go. Just a short filler chapter I'm afraid, but I hope you enjoy it all the same. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned.

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE TEN

The Calm

* * *

Tomoe leaned on her knees and peered at Jun, tilting her head this way and that as she regarded him for a moment. "Jun," she said quietly, "do you ever get the feeling that life is trying to tell you something?"

Jun scowled. "Mostly I just get the feeling that life is having a good laugh at my expense. Oww!" he cried out suddenly, prompting Souseiseki to appear from behind his head.

"Sorry," she said, brandishing a pair of scissors. Jun groaned.

"Do you even know what you're doing?"

"Of course I do; I used to do this for one of my previous masters. Just sit still."

Jun was seated with his back to the dinner table, whilst the gardener doll stood behind him on the table itself. She was currently cutting his hair back to its original length, despite Nori's insistence that he looked much better with long hair. He'd clipped his nails too, given that ten years worth of nail growth is not something that looks good on anyone.

"There," announced Souseiseki abruptly, "I think that should do it. I'm afraid I wasn't able to style it the way you normally have it. Just out of curiosity, how _do_ you get your hair to look that way, Jun?"

Tomoe passed Jun a handheld mirror so he could check out the results. "Hmm? It pretty much ends up that way on its own. Hey, not bad. Now all I need-"

"Right here," said Souseiseki, setting down the scissors and handing Jun a new pair of glasses that they had procured for him. He put them on and blinked as his vision swam into focus. He then checked his reflection in the mirror again and nodded appreciatively.

"Better," he admitted. He disappeared upstairs for five minutes and then returned to the living room, this time sporting a stylish new suit that Micchan had purchased for him. "Well," he said before the assembled group, "how do I look?"

They all stared. The end result was a definite improvement, at least for the task that lay ahead. It was still very ... odd, seeing Jun as an adult. For some it took a little getting used to. For others -

"Fantastic!" Micchan gushed, clasping her hands together gleefully.

- not so much. Shinku gave a curt nod of her head.

"It shall suffice."

"Thanks Shinku," Jun rolled his eyes, clearly thrilled by her enthusiasm. Suiseiseki chuckled.

"Not bad for a puny little runt. I'd even go so far as to say that you look easy on the eyes, human."

Compliments from Suiseiseki, thought Jun, as if things weren't weird enough ... he noticed Nori trying to surreptitiously snap a picture of him and pointed sharply at her to get her attention. "Hey! Don't you dare!"

"Aww, c'mon Jun-kun!" Nori wailed in protest as she lowered the camera a fraction, "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity! I just gotta capture the moment, you know?"

"Besides," added Tomoe with a slightly mischievous smirk, "You should be used to posing for pictures by now, right Jun? You even considered taking it up as a career ... remember?"

She was of course referring to Jun's brief brush with insanity last week, where under some strange influence he'd professed a desire to take up professional modeling. He had hoped she'd forgotten about that. Obviously not. He wilted and caved in.

"Fine. Then can we get this crazy plan over with? I want to go back to being a kid again."

That was the cue for Kanaria to take centre stage and begin the mission briefing. This she did with some excitement, hopping up onto the coffee table so everyone could see her clearly. "Right then," she began heartily, "It seems the first stage of my ingenious plan has been successfully implemented. Stage two is already underway."

Souseiseki raised her hand, and when prompted asked; "Just what _is_ stage two, exactly?"

Kanaria's green eyes glittered with the smug self-assurance of how brilliant she was. She giggled. "We need to sneak into the auction of course. We already have Jun disguised for the part, and thanks to Micchan, getting us dolls in will be sheer childsplay, y'know?"

"No," said Suiseiseki flatly, "Stop tooting your own horn and start explaining."

Kanaria frowned, ruffled at being so bluntly interrupted. She brushed the whole thing off and extended a hand. "It's easy of course! If you want to hide a match, you just put it in a matchbox with a whole bunch of other matches."

Suiseiseki growled and crossed her arms in a frustrated huff. "Oh great, now she's going all metaphorical on us."

"You are going to take the Enju dolls from Miss Micchan's newly acquired shop and put them up for auction alongside Pandora, are you not?" said Shinku simply, more a statement of fact than an actual question, "This will allow Jun and Miss Micchan to smuggle us into the auction without suspicion, by hiding us amongst the other dolls."

Kanaria laughed happily and clapped her hands, hopping on the spot. "That's it! That's it, yes!"

"And the great thing is I might actually be able to sell some of the Enju dolls while we're at it," said Micchan, evidently able to find a silver lining around an already silver cloud. Jun meanwhile was feeling a tad more pessimistic. He sat on the couch with his arms folded, his expression one of severe doubt.

"You've still got the problem of _how_ exactly we're supposed to steal the Box and get safely away with it. You know - the main point to all of this."

"Have no fear!" Kanaria replied heroically, "For I, Kanaria, have already devised the solution to that dilemma! It's simplicity itself, y'know?" She chuckled at her own brilliance, then laughed. The laughter grew to the point that everyone in the room was staring at her. Finally she stopped and coughed lightly, hoping that her laughter didn't make her seem quite as insane as it had sounded. She smiled nervously. "Really though, getting the Box out of the auction house will be a piece of cake compared with actually getting all of us safely out as well. I calculate that our only strategy will be to convince Grimm that we've failed so that he will let us go."

"And just how are you gonna do that?" asked Jun. Kanaria turned and pointed to Tomoe.

"Me?" Tomoe's eyes widened, startled by this, "How can I help?"

"Well ... lets just say we're going to have to pull a bit of a switch. And for that, we'll need you to stay here with one of the Gardener twins."

Suiseiseki and Souseiseki exchanged looks, utterly perplexed by this. Kanaria groaned and sat down, tapping her fingertips together.

"Okay," she said carefully, "Listen up everyone, because this is where the plan gets a teensy bit complicated ..."

* * *

Kirakishou drifted aimlessly through the gleaming crystal hallways of her palatial N-Field, absent mindedly brushing a single black feather against her nose as she went. Her expression was blank and unreadable, her thoughts at that moment anyone's guess.

"You will have to fight her," said Barasuishou, who was perhaps in a better position to guess than most. Her face reflected in one of the numerous mirrors throughout Kirakishou's Field. The seventh doll stopped and scowled, but said nothing. Barasuishou continued. "In the end you will fight all of your sisters. It is your fate as a Rozen Maiden. You cannot escape it."

"I do not want to fight Suigintou," Kirakishou murmured, not turning to face the reflection that taunted her. And it was true - she didn't. She didn't really want to fight _any_ of her sisters, though she would if they got in her way. But not Suigintou. Not her big sis. Barasuishou scoffed at her.

"That one will destroy you, unless you destroy her first."

"No. I will find the Box."

"She will fight you for it. Or fight you in the Alice Game. You cannot avoid it."

"Be _silent!_" Kirakishou screamed abruptly, spinning and hurling the feather at the nearby mirror. It shattered into fragments of sleeting glass that cascaded to the floor, each piece still reflecting a part of the Enju doll's face.

"Why?" her voice continued to mock, this time coming from all around, "You wanted me. Two sides to the same coin. Together as one. This _was_ your desire ..."

Kirakishou stood rooted to the spot, trembling with frustrated rage, the crystals in her Field shifting between hues of white and pink and violet as her mood darkened. Finally her anger shattered and she broke down as if defeated, sinking to the cold floor, hands clutching her face as if to assure herself that she was still real.

"No, I will not ... not ... will not fight her. No matter. No matter what."

She saw Barasuishou's face move in the scattered fragments of the broken mirror around her, and heard a short, quiet chuckle of amusement at her denial. "And if you must choose between Alice and Suigintou? What then?"

Kirakishou stared at the fragments with one wide amber eye, the question piercing her heart like a blade before letting the truth pour from the fresh wound like oozing blood. And it startled her, the truth, her answer to that question. She spoke it aloud, as amazed by it as Barasuishou was.

"Suigintou ... I would choose her. I would not harm her even to become Alice."

"Hmph," Barasuishou scoffed, surprised but not deterred, "You will have to, to win the Game. To see Father."

"Then I will lose the Alice Game," Kirakishou snapped, more confidently this time. And she knew that, yes, if she had to she would break every last one of her sisters to win. Every last one but Suigintou. If she held Pandora's Box and victory in her hands, and Suigintou stood before her and demanded it from her ... she would rather hand it over than fight her big sis for it.

"Then you will be alone," Barasuishou teased, her tone scathing, "Forever and ever ..."

Kirakishou's distraught expression curled into a sly smirk and she narrowed her eye at the scattered fragments. She raised a finger to her mouth and giggled, her mind unraveling before her. "Never alone, sweet Barasuishou," she countered, her voice somewhat unhinged, "I shall always have you, after all. We shall always be together. Forever. Forever and ever." She giggled again, louder this time, and by the time she stopped the broken mirror fragments no longer reflected the face of Barasuishou, nor was her voice to be heard.

In the silence that followed, Kirakishou did hear a sound. It was such an odd sound to hear, here in her N-Field of all places, and at first she couldn't place it. She frowned and concentrated, listening intently, trying to comprehend what it was that she was hearing.

Music.

Distant, faint, but definitely a melody of some sort. She tilted her head, puzzled deeply by this. Was she imagining it? She did sometimes see and hear things that were not real, that existed only in her mind. Her conversations with her twin were evidence of that. But no. She felt that this was real, this music. As she glanced up, she saw her artificial spirit sail over her head, stop for a moment and pulse at her.

"You hear it too, Rosary?" she asked, "Lead me to it."

It pulsed again in affirmation before zipping off through the endless corridors and hallways of her palace. Kirakishou stood and glided after it, floating just inches above the ground, her dress fluttering in the air as she flew.

On and on Rosary went, down stairways, through empty rooms, around corners. Finally it stopped before a doorway that was completely out of place with the design of her Field, a stout wooden thing with gold and silver inlay intertwined together in a floral pattern. As she approached, the melody that led her here ceased. Frowning, Kirakishou pushed at the door and it swung open with ease, admitting her into a brilliant emerald green garden. A hanging garden even, with a spectacular view in the distance.

Yet it wasn't the scenery that held her attention, far from it, for in the middle of the garden sat a table. Upon this table was a chess board, and seated opposite each other were two figures. One was the unmistakable white rabbit known as Laplace no Ma. Kirakishou knew him well, as he frequently appeared in the N-Field to pose nonsensical cryptic statements to any who would listen.

The other person however ...

"Father!" Kirakishou gasped, her eye wider than it had ever been before. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at the blond haired figure seated opposite Laplace. He glowed with a faint aura of golden light, the same light that shone down on this entire garden. Could it truly be? Yes it was! It was Father!

Laughing merrily, Kirakishou ran to him, arms outstretched. He did not seem to notice her approach, and indeed did not even notice when his seventh daughter ran right through him and staggered to a stop several feet away. Kirakishou gasped again, shocked. With a growing sense of unease she turned back to Rozen - who still did not seem to see her - and slowly passed her hand through him as if he were insubstantial as smoke.

The same held true for Laplace, and even the table they were seated at. She could not touch them or interact with them in any way, and neither of them appeared to be aware of her presence. Heartbroken at this, yet still cheered somewhat to be able to see her Father once more, Kirakishou stood and stared at him with an enraptured expression upon her face.

"Oh, Father ..." she whispered, almost moved to tears of joy at the sight of him.

"Your move," Rozen said dryly, directing his words to the demon opposite him. Kirakishou tore her gaze away from him long enough to glance at the chess board situated between the two, and when she did she was only further puzzled. She was quite familiar with the game, and had even on occasion played it with Laplace out of a simple desire to keep the demon around for company, so lonely had she been at times.

But what she saw made no sense.

"The Red Queen falls," said Laplace, reaching out and placing the piece in question on its side. The problem, Kirakishou realized, lay in the other two pieces on the board, for there were only two others. One a White Queen, the other a Black Queen. They lay opposite each other, the only thing between them the overturned Red Queen piece.

_Three_ Queens? Each a different colour? What kind of game was _this?_

"And now the first and last bring the game to an end," announced Laplace, sitting back in his chair with an air of finality about him. She glanced over to Father, who was leaning on the table, his expression thoughtful, not defeated. After a long moment of introspection, Rozen reached over and removed the Red Queen piece, replacing it with another piece. A White Knight. Now he leaned back, a slight air of smugness about him, his green eyes boring into Laplace as if daring him to comment. Kirakishou didn't understand any of it.

"Hmph," said Laplace, faintly annoyed, "You would break the rules to intervene? That will never do."

Rozen smirked somewhat. "What makes you think _I_ am the White Knight?" he countered.

Laplace's whiskers twitched, his blood red eyes narrowing with suspicion. "Then who might this be?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Ahh," Laplace smiled. Possibly. It was hard to say with a face like that. "The boy who wound. The Medium. But white, not red ... interesting."

What was so interesting? Kirakishou wondered. She couldn't ask, nor could she discern the answer by continuing to observe, for the sight before her faded away and vanished. She cried out for Father, but it was no use. One moment he was there, the next he was gone. Laplace, the table and the chess board with him. Even the garden. As the seventh doll blinked and looked around, she saw that she was standing inside one of her very own vacant crystal rooms, alone once more.

But then again, not everything she had seen had completely gone. As she cast her one-eyed gaze about, she caught sight of something on the floor, right where the table had been. It was so small she almost missed it, but it was definitely there. She bent low and scooped it up, holding it tight in her hand as she stood upright. As Rosary appeared and hovered at her shoulder, Kirakishou turned her hand over and uncurled it, examining the tiny thing that had been left behind. It was a chess piece.

A White Knight.

* * *

Kanaria: Commence Operation: Pandora!

Emil: Wait, you guys are trying to steal the Box?

Jun: Yeah, and we need to get out of here right now!

Eike: Over your dead body.

Emil: No! Stop! Don't!

Rosetta: If you want to leave, you'll have to go through me first.

Shinku: If that is what it takes, then so be it.

Kirakishou: Pandora's Box ... is _mine_.

Jun: Next time on Rozen Maiden: Märchen -

Kirakishou: The light of truth eludes you.


	44. EP11: Angel's Home

Okay, so I'd like to start by apologizing for how long this update took. Long story short, writers block and lack of confidence made me put off writing the next chapter for _ages_. As it is I'm not happy with this update at all, and I still have a major case of writers block for episode eleven. I have barely any idea what the heck I'm doing. So before you read this I'd like to apologize again for the poor quality of this entire episode. I hope to make up for it by writing a really spectacular final episode afterwards, so if you don't like episode eleven please stick with this fic until the end. It doesn't have long to go.

Since it has been so long since the last update, here's a quick recap of recent events: Everyone is trying to get their hands on Pandora's Box, a doll case supposedly containing the mythical doll Pandora and her artificial spirit Hope. The Rozen Maidens believe the Box can end the Alice Game, but a doll collector named Eike Grimm wants the Box for himself because he thinks it can be used to make one of his dolls human. Jun and the gang got a hold of the Box, but Grimm stole it from them. He can't open it though because Kirakishou has the key. In order to smoke out whoever holds the key, Grimm is pretending to sell the Box at an auction, whilst Jun and the gang intend to steal back the Box before that happens. Oh, and as part of the plan the dolls have magically aged Jun, turning him into an adult.

So here's my next chapter. It's very short I'm afraid, and isn't very good, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE ELEVEN

Angel's Home

* * *

"Stop fidgeting so much, you look fine!" Mitsu hissed, scolding Jun as he fiddled with his tie for what had to be the hundredth time. "Here, have a drink, that should calm you down."

Jun stared at the offered glass for a moment and then shot Mitsu an irate look. "I'm fourteen, I'm not old enough to drink."

"For all intents and purposes you're twenty five; drink."

He hesitated a moment longer and then took the glass, sipping at the sparkly liquid as instructed. It did not help sooth his nerves and didn't taste particularly nice either, prompting him to wince with mild disgust. "Yuck, people actually drink this stuff?" he held the glass at arms length and regarded it as if it had just said something offensive. Mitsu wasn't paying him much attention, she was far too busy squeaking with delight.

"I can't believe I'm really standing in the lobby of Tenshi-no-Sato!" she gushed, grabbing a hold of Jun's arm as if to affirm the reality of the situation, "This is like ... like ... _doll heaven!_"

Jun sighed wearily and hung his head. It was ironic in a way that even though _he_ was really the child and Micchan the adult, from their behaviour one could easily think the reverse were true. Still, as an avid doll collector and fan, Mitsu had every reason to be exited. The auction for Pandora's Box was being held in Kyoto, at the Tenshi-no-Sato (Angel's Home) doll museum and headquarters for Volks Inc. - the company that manufactured the Super Dollfie dolls sold throughout Japan. The auction, part of a hugely popular Dolpa (doll party) convention, had attracted a tremendous amount of attention and consequently the lobby that Jun and Mitsu were standing around in was packed.

"Aahhh!" Mitsu squealed and pointed, tugging at Jun's arm fiercely, "Akihiro Enku! Jun, that's Akihiro Enku!"

Jun grimaced at her embarrassing behaviour. "Great. Who's Akihiro Enku?"

She pressed herself tightly up against him and squirmed with fangirlish glee. "You're kidding, you really don't know? He's only the sculptor who _invented_ the Super Dollfie franchise! Oh my gosh, he's so cute! Ahhh!" she screamed slightly and cringed, "He's looking at me! What do I do? What do I do?"

Jun smiled weakly and waved at the doll sculptor from across the crowded lobby, doing his best not to die from shame. "Just try and remember that we're here on business," he muttered to his partner in crime through clenched teeth, "We're supposed to be looking for Grimm."

"Ohmygoshohmygosh! Is that Naoto Hirooka, the Gothic Lolita fashion designer? It is! Jun, you should go and talk to him! I bet he'd love to see some of your work!"

Jun facepalmed as Mitsu waved a shaking finger at yet another celebrity, wondering for a moment what chance this plan had at all with someone as starstruck as Micchan on the job. Fortunately she didn't have a crucial role, which was just as well really. Untangling himself from her grasp, Jun hastily discarded his revolting drink and searched about for some secluded corner to secrete himself out of the way. After a few minutes navigating his way through the crowds of chirping chattering people he spotted an isolated table in the corner of the otherwise crowded cafe, at which sat a singular and lonely looking grey-haired boy nursing a glass of orange juice.

"Sorry," said Jun, apologizing in advance as he stole the boy's juice and took a deep draught. With a sigh of relief he wiped his mouth and set the glass back down on the table, before dropping himself down in a vacant seat opposite the boy. "Had to get rid of the taste of that ... whatever the heck that stuff is everyone else is drinking."

"That would be champagne," the boy said, regarding Jun with faint amusement. Jun blinked and then remembered that he currently had the physical appearance of an adult. He cleared his throat nervously.

"Yeah, that ... so, you look like you're having fun. Don't like dolls?"

The boy shook his head. "Oh, no, I like dolls a lot. It's the humans I'm not so fond of ..." he nodded his head to indicate the crowds of people chatting away. Jun smiled a little at the admission, feeling a certain understanding with the kid.

"Tell me about it," Jun chortled, "At least with dolls you know where you are. Granted you're run off your feet making tea for them and tidying up after the rotten little things, but at least you_ know_, right?"

Jun found himself under the scrutiny of a pair of quite intelligent, albeit jaded grey eyes as the young boy stared at him, trying to gauge if he was being sarcastic or teasing. When he took in Jun's earnest expression and honest tone he smiled a little and scratched at the surface of the table in an absent minded fashion. "That is true, yes."

"I'm Sakurada by the way. Nice to meet you."

"Grimm," the boy answered, "And likewise."

Jun's eyes widened slightly. "Grimm? Your name wouldn't happen to be Eike, would it?" Surely not, he thought to himself, the kid sitting opposite him was twelve or thirteen at most.

"I'm his little brother, Emil," the boy clarified, lowering his head and peering at his now mostly empty glass, "My big brother is here to sell a rare antique doll. I'm just sort of ... tagging along."

Jun relaxed a little, but was no less surprised than he had been a moment ago. Eike Grimm had a little brother? He hadn't expected that. Still thirsty, he grabbed Emil's glass and finished off the last of the orange juice. When he set the now completely empty glass back down on the table, he shrugged helplessly at the wide-eyed look the boy gave him.

"Sorry."

"_You're_ thirsty," Emil observed, smirking at him.

"Long trip here," Jun explained, licking his no-longer dry lips, "Didn't have time to stop. Incidentally, d'you know if they're going to serve anything to eat at this event?"

Before the boy could answer him there was a shift in the movements of the crowd, everyone turning to face the same direction. Jun sat up a little straighter to get a good look, and soon spotted what all the fuss was; someone was making a speech. A middle-aged corporate suit tapped the side of his glass and nodded to the assembled people, who all fell silent and listened intently.

"I would just like to take a moment to thank all of you for coming to the first Dolpa event of the year," the man announced pleasantly with a smile, "Which we at Volks have decided to host on the very special occasion of Hinamatsuri - the annual Doll Festival - to celebrate this especially important day." There was a round of applause, which neither Jun nor Emil joined in on. In Jun's case it was because he simply wasn't used to these kinds of social occasions and it never occurred to him. The man giving the speech raised his glass as the applause died off.

"And now I'd like to give a toast to our esteemed guest, here all the way from Germany to oversee the sale of an extremely rare and priceless doll - ladies and gentlemen I give you the president and founder of the Märchen doll company; Eike Grimm!"

As the applause erupted once more, Jun stared at the silver-haired figure who emerged from the crowd, his eyes narrowing at the quite aptly named grim looking man. The man who had stolen their one and only hope. Inside his jacket pocket Jun felt the cell phone he'd been given vibrate. Pulling it out as the applause subsided, he flipped it open and held it to his ear.

"Yes?" he murmured, keeping his voice low. There was a long pause as he waited for a response. After a moment of tense silence he heard Kanaria's voice on the other end of the line.

_"We're all set here - commence Operation: Pandora!"_


	45. EP11: Mission Impossible

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE ELEVEN

Mission Impossible

* * *

Kanaria blinked. Fortunately there were no humans around to see. The Dolpa reception was being held in the lobby and cafe on the ground floor, whilst Micchan's Enju doll collection had been taken up to the exhibition hall on the second floor. As per the plan, the Rozen Maidens had been hidden among the collection, each of them wearing a different dress than normal to guard against the possibility of being recognised by one of Grimm's hired goons.

And then they'd been left there, surrounded by a variety of other dolls on display as part of the auction. Unlike the Rozen Maidens however, these were all normal dolls of the non living variety, and did not bat an eyelid as Kanaria got up and peered about.

"Okay ladies, the coast is clear," she announced, struggling to keep the nervous excitement from her voice. A short distance away Shinku stood and adjusted one of her ribbons. Souseiseki was next, feeling slightly awkward and uneasy wearing such a frilly feminine dress. Hinaichigo stretched and then hopped down onto the richly carpeted floor, gazing about in awe at all the dolls on display.

"So many ... and they're so pretty!"

"Pay attention now, Hinaichigo," Shinku warned, hopping down to the floor as well, "We must not lose sight of why we are here."

"I don't see any sign of the Box," Souseiseki observed as she quickly scanned the various shelves and display cases in the exhibit hall. Kanaria searched about as well but then shrugged it off.

"Well, we knew it wouldn't be that easy, didn't we?" She rubbed her hands together in devious anticipation, "Time to get to work, ladies!"

They had to move quickly, as it was only a matter of time before the reception downstairs finished and moved on up to check out the dolls on display. Pandora's Box was probably being held in a secure room somewhere, and would only be brought out after everyone had already finished looking over the main exhibit. No doubt an attempt to prevent it from hogging all of the attention away from the other dolls on sale. Either way they needed to complete the next stage of the plan without setting off any alarms or getting caught. One wrong move and the entire scheme could fall apart right here and now.

The Rozen Maidens began by searching about for an opening into the building's air ventilation system. It was a hot and sticky day outside, yet the interior of the Tenshi-no-Sato was kept at a refreshingly cool temperature by a state of the art HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) system that included a network of air ducts running throughout the structure.

One might scoff at the mere notion of stealthily crawling through the air ducts of a building, so often is the trick employed for dramatic effect in fiction, and indeed the air ducts inside the Tenshi-no-Sato were far too small and flimsy to support the weight or size of even a human child, air being quite light and requiring little actual space to travel. Nevertheless the Rozen Maidens were not human, and were both smaller and lighter even than human infants. Thus once Souseiseki had prized a nearby vent cover off with her Shears, the dolls had little difficulty traversing the tiny dark air ducts.

"Unyuu, Hina doesn't like the dark ..."

"Stop being such a baby," Kanaria chided the little blond doll, "The worst thing you'll come across in here are rats."

"Aaagh!" Hina stopped mid-crawl and peered back at her, "R-rats? Big rats?"

"I do recall the Giant Rat of Sumatra from the Adventures of Kunkun was a rodent of rather unusual size and ferocity ..." Shinku remarked, not helping matters one bit as Hinaichigo whimpered and shook, too afraid to move any further. Souseiseki hung her head and let out and exasperated sigh.

"Will you stop scaring Hinaichigo?"

Eventually they reached their destination - a meshwork grill covering the vent opening into the third floor security room. It was pretty much what you'd expect of a security room, with banks of computer screens showing video surveillance feeds and electronic lock maps. Everything was in the green, for now, and the one bored looking security guard on duty sat lounging in a swivel chair reading a magazine. That was just as well, as Kanaria's greatest concern was that their initial movements would be noticed on camera. Evidently not, if the guard's lack of concern was anything to go on.

"Lempicka," Souseiseki whispered, calling forth her blue-tinted artificial spirit. The tiny sprite zipped around her for a brief moment before slipping through the gaps in the mesh grill before them. It hovered unnoticed above the security guard, and a moment later his head lolled back, thick snores punctuating the room, just audible above the gentle hum of the air conditioning system.

Too easy.

Off came the vent covering and within seconds the dolls were standing on solid ground once more, only slightly dirty from their covert clambering through the air ducts. As Shinku used a vacant chair to reach the door handle and turn the lock, Kanaria flipped open the cell phone she'd packed and hit the speed dial for Jun's number.

_"Yes?"_

"We're all set here," the little grey-haired doll replied after taking a moment to catch her breath at the sheer excitement of it all, "Commence Operation: Pandora!"

With the only security guard present firmly entrenched in dreamland, the dolls were free to follow Jun's progress as he slipped away from the reception downstairs and quietly made his way to the third floor. He did encounter a couple of Volks employees along the way, but as per his pre-mission training he simply strode confidently past them as if he belonged where he was and was doing no wrong. Sure enough they paid him no mind and the dolls saw Jun let out a sigh of relief as soon as he was out of sight of them.

"This all seems a little easy," Souseiseki remarked, her brow furrowing as she followed Jun's progress on the computer screens, "Doesn't anyone find it odd that security is so lax? I would have expected more from this Grimm person given what we've heard about him."

"Indeed," Shinku agreed, "In all likelihood however Mister Grimm has intentionally made it easy in order to lull would-be thieves into a false sense of safety," she said, "No doubt he has some elaborate trap in place to catch those who make an attempt on the Box."

"Not to worry," Kanaria extended a hand, her eyes closed in a bored fashion, "I already anticipated that eventuality during the planning stages of this marvellous and ingenious scheme of mine. Like I said before, we want him to think he has the upper hand. Little does he suspect that he's up against the one and only Kanaria! I'm more than a match for his woefully inadequate intellect, y'know?"

A few minutes later Jun arrived, slipping into the security office upon sighting Shinku's head poking through the open door. He shut the door behind him and then leaned against it, sagging as he did so.

"I can't believe I'm really doing this," he muttered sullenly, "You guys do realise I could go to jail when this is all over? And that's assuming Grimm doesn't decide to just shoot me."

"Oh yea of little faith!" Kanaria scolded him, hands firmly on her hips, "Trust in the Kana; the Kana is good."

Still grumbling at the inherent danger involved, Jun wheeled the security guard's chair aside and pulled a vacant one over for himself. Seated before the rows of computer terminals and video screens, it didn't take him long to locate Micchan. He could see her flapping her arms comically in the lobby as she stood talking to someone. Good then, the reception was still in full swing. Nevertheless they needed to get moving as they hadn't yet reached the point where they could afford for anything to go wrong.

Finding the Box wasn't exactly difficult either - Jun located it on a prominent screen marked B2F. It nestled inside a clear glass display case in the middle of a small white room. With a few minutes worth of searching he was able to punch up a screen showing the status of various electronic alarms and sensors protecting the Box, and shutting each one down was a simple matter of clicking options with a mouse. Easy.

Now came the hard part. The room containing the Box was on the second basement level of the building. They were currently on the third floor, above ground. They needed to get down there, swipe the Box, and then get away with it despite there being an entire lobby full of guests, Volks employees, Eike Grimm and of course whatever gun-totting security he had brought in the way.

Not so easy.

"Okay Shinku, Hinaichigo, you're up," Jun said, turning in his swivel chair to face the dolls. He started with surprise, his eyes growing large as he saw what they were doing.

"Unyuu," Hina frowned, puzzled by something, "Why do the girls in this magazine have parts Hina doesn't?"

After Jun had wheeled the sleeping guard to one side, the magazine the man had been browsing through to pass the time had slipped onto the floor, where Hinaichigo had retrieved it. Now she stood gaping at the glossy coloured pictures contained therein, Souseiseki and Kanaria standing each side of her as they, too, peered intently at the thing. Shinku however was preoccupied staring up at the computer screens.

"What are those lumps on her torso?" Souseiseki enquired innocently, pointing at one of the pictures. Kanaria scratched the side of her head, thinking.

"Umm ... I think those are the mammary glands, aren't they?"

"Ohh. What do those do?" said Souseiseki. Kanaria glanced across at her, her expression somewhat uncertain.

"Well I ... I think they make milk, y'know?"

"Milk?" Hina's pale green eyes widened and her face lit up with joy. "Oh! Really? They sound neat, Hina wants some mammaries too!"

Jun stared, horrified, his glasses slipping down his nose as his face turned bright scarlet from the sudden rush of blood. Beside him Shinku regarded the trio of dolls and their newfound interest with curiosity, wondering what it was they were talking about.

"What is it you have there?" she asked them calmly, "Let me see."

"NO!" Jun leapt out of his seat and wrapped his arms around Shinku, enveloping her head completely, "What are you guys doing? Don't _look_ at that stuff!"

They all stared at him, dumbfounded by his reaction. Meanwhile Shinku flapped her arms about, protesting fiercely at Jun's embrace with an irate and somewhat muffled voice. Hinaichigo turned her attention back to the magazine for a moment and turned the page. Her expression clouded over with confusion and she tilted the article to one side, squinting oddly at it.

"Unyuu ...? What's that thing sticking out between this man's legs?"

"AAGGHH! GIMME THAT!" Jun released Shinku, bolted forwards and snatched the adult magazine from the little doll's tiny hands, thrusting it behind his back to hide it from them. Unfortunately Shinku was standing behind him and got quite an eyeful of just what Hina and the others had been gawking at. She promptly turned the same colour as her usual dress, her name becoming even more apt in the process.

"Oh," she said, "Oh my. How ... how frightfully vulgar."

Jun jumped as if he'd been stung and then spun around, blushing so fiercely that it was a wonder he didn't set the fire alarm off. With dolls behind him and another doll before him, he searched frantically about for somewhere to hide the offending item but found nothing. As he paused for a moment to glance at the stupid thing, he actually saw just what they had been looking at himself and very nearly fainted as a result.

"AGHH!" Jun yelped, lowering the pages out of his sight so as to try and preserve his severely bruised innocence. "That does it!" He stamped over to the door, wrenched it open and hurled the dirty magazine out into the hallway.

Where it hit Emil Grimm full in the face and knocked the poor startled boy to the floor.


	46. EP11: The Box Bandits

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE ELEVEN

The Box Bandits

* * *

When Emil had recovered from the initial shock of being floored by a projectile magazine, he sat upright and gaped at Jun, who in turn gaped right back at him. Then Emil noticed the dolls peeking out from behind Jun's legs and his grey eyes grew wide at the sight of them.

"Wow," he breathed, impressed by what he saw. Jun got over his own shock and - glancing down the hallway to make sure no one was watching - snatched the startled boy up and pulled him into the security office. The door was hastily closed and locked, and once more Jun leaned against it.

What followed was an extremely strained silence between them, filled with the background hum of computers, air conditioning and the snores of a heavily sleeping guard. Emil, Jun and the dolls all exchanged awkward looks for several uncomfortable moments, Jun acutely aware that they were in the middle of a highly elaborate heist. Finally Emil smiled nervously and offered Jun the magazine.

"Nice to meet you again," he said pleasantly enough, "Here is your ... umm," he took a moment to actually glance at the magazine in his hands, which up until now he hadn't taken much notice of. When he did it became obvious that he had done so, as his normally quite pale face blushed to a very noticeable degree.

"Yeah, that ... I can explain ..." Jun hesitated, making various awkward movements with his hands as he tried to decide what to do. Finally he took the offensive magazine, shuffled across the room to the guard snoozing away in a chair, and laid it across his slumbering face. Turning back to the young boy, Jun gestured vaguely for a moment before wilting. "Actually ... no, I can't," he finished lamely.

"What now?" Souseiseki whispered into Kanaria's ear. The second Rozen Maiden clawed at the side of her head and wailed.

"I ... I'm not sure, this isn't part of the plan, y'know?"

Emil stared at the assembled dolls again until realisation dawned on his youthful features. He jabbed a finger at them, prompting them all to lean back slightly. "Hey," he said, "you're Rozen Maidens, aren't you?"

"And if we are?" Shinku challenged, still not sure of this human's intentions. She needn't have worried so, because Emil's face split into a wide grin and he clasped his hands together gleefully.

"Oh, wow! I can't believe I'm looking at actual Rozen Maidens!" he gushed, doing a very good impression of Micchan when faced with the crowd of doll celebrities downstairs, "You guys are, like, _legendary!_"

Jun rubbed the side of his head in astonishment as Emil ... well, fan_boy_'d over the Rozen dolls. It was true that the Rozen Maidens _were_ something of a legend amongst doll collectors and enthusiasts. He'd learned as much that time Shinku had broken down and he'd gone online trying to find out how to fix her. Most people believed them to be fictional, and their reputation was almost mythical. The Rozen Maidens were to the average doll-nut (if there even was such a thing) as Excalibur was to the average sword-nut.

"Can I touch you?" Emil asked with reverence, optimistically extending a finger towards Shinku in an effort to affirm the reality of the famous doll. She glared at him.

"No."

"You can touch Hina, Hina likes cuddles," Hinaichigo offered cheerfully.

Jun sagged as this went on for some time. Thrilled though he was that the kid wasn't about to go running off to his big brother to raise the alarm, they _were_ still on the clock. There was work still to do. "Uhh, guys?" he said after a while, "We got places to be, you know. Wanna move things along?"

Emil got up and looked from Jun to the sleeping security guard, as if finally remembering the circumstances that had brought him to this moment. He frowned. "Wait, what are you all doing here?"

Jun hesitated, unsure what to say. "Well, we ... uhh ..."

"You're here to steal Pandora's Box, aren't you?"

"Well, you see, we kinda ... sorta ... yes."

Emil let out an exasperated sigh and moved to the bank of computer terminals. "Why didn't you say so?" He began clicking away with the mouse, his face a mask of concentration. "Good, you've disabled the alarms and sensors already. How are you planning on getting down there, though? My brother has that thug Sam stationed outside the room, guarding it."

"Wait just a second-" said Jun.

"You're okay with us stealing it?" Souseiseki finished for him. Emil shrugged and smiled slightly at them.

"Well of course I am; I only tried to steal the thing myself for you. Got caught though. Sorry."

"Say _what?_" Jun gaped at the admission. Emil hopped onto a vacant chair, his legs dangling above the floor as it was adjusted to sit someone taller. He regarded the Rozen Maidens with a singularly intense expression that was quite surprising.

"I know about the Alice Game," he said quietly, "It's a horrible thing if you ask me - the idea that you all have to fight each other for your souls. I'd do anything to help put a stop to that. It just isn't right, you know?" He sighed and looked away, staring off into the recent past. "When Kohaku came looking for her father a few days ago, she told me you were searching for the Box. My brother stole it from you, didn't he?"

This drew a series of startled gasps from the dolls. Jun's eyes widened and his mouth hung open at the mention of Kohaku's name. "You saw Kohaku? Was she okay?"

"She _was_," Emil muttered with more than a little bitterness in his voice. He scowled. "That demon Laplace has her imprisoned somewhere with her father now, I think."

Jun almost growled at that. He really hated that damn interfering rabbit. Emil seemed annoyed with himself for some reason, his hands clenching in his lap and his brow furrowing at the recollection of those events.

"There wasn't anything I could do. My brother will stop at nothing to have what's inside the Box. He's set this auction up as a trap to lure in whoever has the key." At this he blinked and looked around at them all with sudden concern. "You didn't bring it with you, did you? If you did then he'll get it for sure."

"We don't have it," said Souseiseki, before glancing over at Shinku. "I wonder who does?" she added, pondering the matter. Shinku met her gaze but said nothing, wondering the same thing herself. Jun in turn glanced at his watch, then at the reception party on the security monitors. They were fast running out of time. He felt a knot of tension build in his stomach.

"We're behind schedule," he pointed out, growing increasingly anxious, "Shinku, you and Hinaichigo have to bring me the Box if we want to keep to the plan."

"He's right!" Kanaria squeaked, suddenly remembering her carefully thought out heist. She jumped up and down and flapped her arms frantically. "If we don't get a move on then everything will have been for nothing!" She shoved Hinaichigo towards the ventilation duct they'd used to gain entry to the office, the little blond doll protesting at this and waving her arms to keep her balance. Shinku followed with a much more ladylike gait.

"Have no fear Jun, I shall return with the Box without delay ..."

* * *

"Oooh, Shinku, you're heavy!"

Shinku scowled, arms extended to keep her precarious balance. "I have told you before," she scolded, "you must never tell a lady that she is heavy. Now keep me steady and lower me down a little more."

After traversing the air ducts to reach the room containing the Box, Hinaichigo had then used her strawberry vines to lower Shinku down from the vent opening towards the glass display case. The only thing missing from the scene was some appropriately dramatic background music. Instead, all was silent save for the groaning sounds of Hinaichigo as she struggled not to drop her sister.

"Just a little closer ... there, stop now."

"Unyuu," Hinaichigo wailed, her face screwed up tight from the effort, "Suiseiseki is right, Hina is too puny for this ..."

Shinku hefted her cane as she dangled less than a foot away from the glass display case. She cast a wary glance towards the door, behind which lay the giant bear of a man who had stolen the Box from them in the first place. This part was tricky, as she would have to break the case to get to the Box, and the sound might alert him. She did however have a trick up her sleeve, so to speak.

The rose ring on her hand flared with a brilliant ruby red light as Shinku unleashed her time altering magic. With a swift motion she brought her cane down on the display case, splintering it into a hundred jagged fragments. Rather than creating an accompanying racket however, Shinku's act of vandalism produced only a muffled and rather dull sound, as if the entire room were submerged underwater. The glass shards spun away in slow motion, their momentum and sound both subdued by Shinku's magic, which caused the flow of time for the glass to drag like a schoolchild stuck in an exceedingly tedious lesson.

The door did not open. Shinku breathed out a sigh of relief and nudged the spinning fragments of glass aside with her cane, before reaching out with it to hook the handle of her cane around the handle of the Box. Once she was sure she had a secure grip, she signalled to Hinaichigo to pull her back up. A moment later they were both safely inside the air duct with Pandora's Box securely in Shinku's grasp. She took a second to redirect her magic, reversing the flow of time for the still-falling glass down below.

When next someone came to check on the Box they would find it gone, yet the locked display case it had sat within perfectly intact and untouched. Her magic had restored it back to its original state just as easily as if it were Jun's bedroom window.

* * *

Emil slipped back into the security office, having taken a quick look around to make sure all was clear. The reception downstairs was wrapping up, which meant someone would be bound to go and check on the Box. When they did they would notice it was gone and raise the alarm. It was time for them to make their escape.

"I think it's safe, but you better hurry, I don't think you have much time-" he stopped and stared. Jun stood with the Box clasped in one hand while he stifled a yawn with the other. The dolls all clamoured around him, visibly anxious. What drew Emil's attention however was one doll in particular. Frowning, he advanced towards her and peered at her. "Wait a second ... what happened to your hair?"

"What are you talking about?" said the doll with the mismatching eyes. Emil gaped and pointed an accusing finger at her.

"Hey, your voice is different! And ... wait, I thought your right eye was green and your left eye was red - now they're the other way around."

"I so do not know what you mean, human," the doll extended her hands, as if to shrug off his observations. Before Emil could raise the matter further, Kanaria jumped up and down and flapped her arms like a chicken attempting to take flight.

"C'mon! We gotta hurry if we wanna get out of here, right?"

The group left the security office and made their way to the elevator. Unfortunately it was in use, and worse - it was on the way up, possibly to the third floor where they were. Not wanting to meet whoever was inside, they opted to take the stairs instead, and quickly made their way back to the doll exhibition room on the second floor.

Where they were greeted by an unfortunate sight.

"Finally," said Eike Grimm, sounding relieved, "I was beginning to think no one was going to take the bait."

The German doll collector stood barring their way, flanked by several intimidating looking men in dark suits. As they glanced back the way they'd come they found themselves confronted by three more hired thugs - no doubt the men who'd taken the elevator had followed behind them.

In short, they were trapped. Boxed in, as it were. Eike Grimm smiled a particularly wolfish smile at them.

"I'll take the Box back, if you don't mind," he said pleasantly, yet with a subtle hint of menace in his voice, a promise of pain if they decided they _did_ mind. "Oh, and the key to open it as well, of course."

"We don't have it," Jun muttered, not liking the look of things one bit. Eike snorted.

"Do you expect me to believe you stole a Box you have no means to open?" He smiled and shook his head to show his doubt for that scenario. "I hardly think so. Hand them over now and I shall allow you all to walk away unharmed. I give you my word."

"And if we do not?" Shinku challenged. Eike sighed at her dramatic response and snapped his fingers. As one his men each drew deadly looking handguns from their shoulder holsters, and the group of Box bandits found themselves staring down half a dozen black barrels. Jun gulped.

"Ask a silly question ..."


	47. EP11: Duel of Fates

I wanted to wrap episode eleven up with this chapter, but it's late and I'm tired, and I think this was a good place to finish the chapter anyway. Expect one more chapter for episode eleven, which I will try and have done over the next few days if I can. After that it's the final episode. Oh, and some of you may be a bit confused by the fact that Souseiseki seems to have disappeared, replaced by Suiseiseki. That's not a mistake, it will be explained next chapter.

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE ELEVEN

Duel of Fates

* * *

"I won't ask again," Grimm warned, his voice losing the pleasant aspect it held before. No one present doubted for a second that he would order his men to open fire if they refused. Jun tightened his grip on the Box, thinking the situation over. Just as he was about to give up and hand it over, Emil stepped forwards, hands clenched tight before him.

"Stop it! You have to stop this, Eike! It isn't right!"

Eike sighed wearily at the sight of his little brother. "Emil, come here this instant."

The younger Grimm brother stood his ground, defiant. "No. The Box belongs to them, they need it."

"I _said_ come here. Don't make me repeat myself," Eike scolded, his voice cold, his finger jabbing to indicate that Emil should join him obediently at his side. "Now!"

"I won't!"

Eike narrowed his grey eyes sharply, his jaw clenched, unaccustomed to being refused by anyone, much less his little brother. He took a deep breath and folded his arms, trying to calm himself. Jun and the dolls remained silent, not wanting to break the tension in the air between the two. Unnoticed by Eike, distracted as he was, Kanaria prodded Shinku. Both sisters exchanged a subtle nod.

"Emil," Eike began, pressing a finger between his eyes as if troubled by a headache, "I overlooked your little act of defiance before because no harm was done. Now, however, things are more serious. I must insist that you do as I say, otherwise you might come to harm."

Emil shook his head emphatically. "I always do what you say-"

"And I have always taken care of you-"

"Only as an afterthought!" Emil snapped furiously, years of pent up frustration pouring out from him now, "It's not as if you did it because you cared about me. I've never mattered to you, have I?"

Eike seemed genuinely astonished by his words, and gaped slightly. Still distracted, he failed to notice Shinku nudge Suiseiseki and give her a significant look.

"How can you _say_ that?" Eike demanded. His younger brother scoffed at him, as if he were incredibly dense for not seeing it himself.

"How can I _not?_ You've never really seen me as anything other than a responsibility - a duty to fulfil after mother and father died."

For the first time in his life Eike seemed lost, uncertain, unsure of himself. Emil's words puzzled him. He glanced about as if he might see some sense to them lying around somewhere, before turning his confused gaze back to his angry sibling. "That is not true - you're my brother, Emil-"

"But I'm not a doll!" Emil snapped at him abruptly, interrupting him and pointing an accusing finger at one of the many dolls on display throughout the exhibition hall, "I'm not like them, am I? Unlike your precious dolls _I_ grow up, _I_ change! I'm not perfect like they are, am I? And you can't stand that!" Tears were streaming down his face now, glistening on his cheeks, yet he scarcely seemed to notice. He lowered his hand and his gaze, flinching at the truth he'd just blurted out. "All I ever wanted was to try and be the best brother I could, to thank you for always taking care of me," he went on, albeit with difficulty, "But no matter how hard I tried, I could tell - I've always been a disappointment to you, haven't I? You hate having a little brother like me around. You hate having to take care of me. And you hate the fact that I'm not one of your perfect little dolls, something you can wind up to make go and then shut in a case when you get bored. I'm a burden to you, Eike. I'll never be good enough. You'd be much happier if I ... if I weren't around anymore."

Jun stared at Emil, eyes wide, almost gawking at the little boy's words. They sounded eerily familiar to him. They reminded him of something similar he'd said to his sister Nori not so long ago. Trapped inside his dream world, tormented by visions of his own insecurities, Jun had never felt so wretched in his entire life. He'd seen himself as a burden to his elder sister, who was always taking care of him despite what a rotten little brother he'd been to her. Now, looking at the grey haired boy sobbing before him, Jun couldn't help but feel a kind of understanding towards him. As he turned his gaze to Eike, Jun saw that the man was hesitant to reply. Eike bit back a retort, finding himself unable to deny the accusations, perhaps because they weren't entirely untrue. And seeing that, Jun reminded himself just how lucky he was to have someone like Nori for a sister.

"Hand over the Box and the key, and you will be free to leave," Eike said finally, addressing Jun rather than his brother, as he simply could not bring himself to lie and say that Emil was wrong in his assessment of him. He turned half away, staring off at nothing in particular, his hands in his pockets. "If you resist then my men will gun you down. You have five seconds. Decide."

Jun glanced down at the Rozen Maidens, who all exchanged looks. Finally Kanaria peered up at Jun with a questioning expression on her little face.

"Now?" she asked. Jun nodded fervently.

"Now."

Only Hinaichigo, lacking a Medium and thus sufficient power to act, stood idle. Shinku, Kanaria and Suiseiseki each raised their hands, the rose rings on their fingers flaring with a brilliant hue as they sent waves of power radiating throughout the exhibition hall. Jun's own ring glowed brightly as well, and he felt the intense heat burning his hand as Shinku and Suiseiseki drew energy from his body.

What was all this for, one might ask? Quite simply, the Rozen Maidens possessed the ability to instil life in otherwise lifeless and immobile dolls, provided they had the requisite energy reserves to do so. At present they were standing amidst a large exhibit room.

Full of dolls.

One moment Eike and his hired guns had a pair of unarmed humans and four Rozen Maidens surrounded. A moment later they were themselves surrounded by a veritable army of dolls, as the Enju collection Micchan had brought, plus the Super Dollfies on display, all came to life and attacked. Fifty dolls altogether at the very least, plus a hefty dose of elementary surprise. Needless to say Eike and his men were caught a little off guard by this move.

Chaos ensued. Guns were fired, but after sustaining a few initial casualties the onslaught of moving dolls buried Eike's men and bore them to the ground, causing many of their shots to hit the ceiling. The Rozen Maidens got stuck in themselves, strawberry vines, rose petals, branches and concussive music adding to the overall confusion. Eike Grimm grimaced at this turn of events as he hid behind a shimmering energy shield, a barrier ring he wore shining in response to the relentless attacks.

Jun was already gone, darting past Grimm as he bolted for the nearest staircase. He paused only to hit a handy fire alarm on his way down, the blaring noise that resulted undoubtedly clearing the ground floor of guests and employees that might potentially get in his way. Sure enough by the time he reached the lobby the entrance was packed with people hurrying to exit the building. Jun spotted Micchan at the back of the crowd, and as their eyes met he triumphantly held up Pandora's Box and tapped the ebony black doll case with a smile.

It was a short lived smile, however, as he soon heard shouts sounding from back the way he'd just come. He realised there was no way he would be able to get out through the front doors in time now, and after searching frantically about for an alternative means of escape he bolted for the garden, which appeared empty.

Or so he thought.

"Stop right there, human," a commanding voice instructed. Jun halted amidst a collection of beautiful cherry blossom trees and turned to see a doll standing a short distance away, brandishing a gleaming rapier. Her hair was a strong shade of pink, as were her eyes, and she wore a dress of alternating black and white layers. She did not appear to be in a good mood.

"Who the heck are you?" Jun asked, regarding the odd figure before him. The doll slashed at the air with her sword and then saluted with it.

"My name is Rosetta," she replied softly yet firmly, "Hand over the Box, if you please."

Jun clutched the case tight and narrowed his eyes. "Over my dead body."

Rosetta smiled and lowered her sword. "That," she said, "can be arranged ..."

* * *

Jun barely had time to flinch as Rosetta leapt at him, sword slicing through the air in a graceful silvery arc. He held up the Box as if to ward off the inevitable blow, but it never came. There was a clashing metallic sound, and as Jun lowered the Box he was startled to see Shinku hovering before him. She had blocked the attack with her cane.

"I will not permit you to harm my Medium," Shinku said sternly as both dolls separated and landed several feet apart. Rosetta twirled her rapier, her eyes darting from Shinku to Jun. She smirked.

"What makes you think you have any say in the matter?" she countered. Her outline flickered for a moment and she vanished, reappearing an instant later beside Jun. Shinku spun and unleashed a flurry of rose petals at her, and she again vanished, this time appearing directly above Jun. Instinctively Jun held Pandora's Box over his head as if it were raining and he was trying to stop himself from getting wet.

Rosetta landed atop the Box and grinned down at Shinku. She stuck her tongue out at the fifth Rozen Maiden, who gave the sword-wielding doll a sneer of disdain. Feeling the added weight, Jun lowered the Box once more, only to find Rosetta still perched upon it. Startled, he dropped the Box to the grassy ground and pulled back. Rosetta remained standing on it, and faced Shinku with a wicked smile as she tapped the blade of her rapier against the black doll case.

"Be a good girl and run along now, why don't you?" she teased, "That way I won't have to cut up that pretty face of yours."

Shinku's cool blue gaze bored into her with palpable iciness as she brandished her cane. "Your arrogance is stifling. Allow me to give you a lesson in humility that you are clearly in need of."

She launched herself at the smiling doll, the two engaging in a flurry of movement as they attacked, counter attacked and dodged, sword clashing against cane. They danced atop Pandora's Box, each striving to land a solid blow on the other. Eventually their weapons locked and Rosetta's palm shot out, striking Shinku and shoving her off the Box. As she sailed back through the air, Shinku gestured with her free hand.

"Holie!"

Her cherry coloured artificial spirit zipped around her and sped towards Rosetta like a glowing bullet. She tried to parry the unexpected attack with her sword, but the momentum hurled her back as well. She landed a short distance away from the Box and faced off against Shinku, her smile long gone now.

"Is that really the best you have to offer?" Rosetta scoffed as Jun joined Shinku, "Really, I expected more from one of the legendary Rozen Maidens."

"In that case," said an eerie voice, "you will not be disappointed ..."

Rosetta seemed puzzled, unable to pinpoint the source of the speaker. Jun and Shinku however were more concerned by the identity of the speaker, because they recognised the voice at once.

"Kirakishou," Shinku whispered. Rosetta's eyes grew suddenly wide as the point of a white crystal blade emerged from the front of her chest. She stared down at it in utter disbelief, though her unwillingness to accept the truth did nothing to change it. Her rapier fell from her grasp and she gasped at the sharp pain, made no better as Kirakishou yanked her weapon free and kicked Rosetta forwards. She landed in a sprawled heap right next to Pandora's Box, and struggled to reach out and touch it even as the last of her life ebbed from her body. With a final trembling shudder she went limp, her fingertips just barely grazing the surface of the black box.

"Pitiful," Kirakishou sneered at the now motionless doll. She turned her one-eyed gaze on Jun and Shinku, her expression rapidly changing. "Well hello there," she giggled, "Did you miss me?"

Shinku extended a hand towards Pandora's Box, intending to rush forwards and claim it. Before she could take even a single step, white rose vines erupted from the ground around the thing, lifting it up into the air and bearing it aloft right into the seventh doll's waiting hand. Her fingers curled around the handle as she clutched it tightly, her greenish-yellow eye staring at the Box with enraptured longing.

"Give that back!" Jun yelled, even though he knew it was useless. Kirakishou cocked her head in his direction and chuckled.

"Say please."

"You are wasting your time," Shinku said with a hint of smugness about her, "The Box is useless without the key to open it."

"Oh?" Kirakishou seemed disappointed for a moment. Her eye downcast, she reached into the front of her dress and withdrew an ornate silvery key on a chain from around her neck. "You mean this little thing?"

Jun gaped. "_You_ have the key? No way ..."

"Way," Kirakishou nodded, tucking the key safely away once more. Straightening up, she blew them a kiss and then waved to them, giggling like a lunatic. Before Jun or Shinku could take any action against her to recover the Box, a pink crystal spike punched out of the ground in front of the seventh doll. A second later it dissolved into a shower of floating white sparkles and Kirakishou was gone, taking Pandora's Box with her.

Jun and Shinku were left standing together beneath the cherry trees, the object of their mission and their last best hope gone. Rosetta lay sprawled before them, lifeless, a gaping wound in her torso where Kirakishou had skewered her from behind. Just when it seemed things could get no worse, Jun raised his gaze in time to see Eike Grimm standing a short distance away, a handgun clutched in a limp hand as he stared at the broken doll on the ground.

"Rosetta ..." he whispered in shocked denial, his normal iron expression seemingly ready to crack any second. He stumbled towards her, his steps faltering, moving as if in a daze. Eike fell to his knees as he finally reached her and scooped Rosetta up into his arms. Holding her lovingly, cradling her like an injured child, his entire body trembled. Jun gulped, the sound loud in the confines of the silent garden at that moment. Hearing him, Eike's unfocused eyes focused quite quickly upon him, the hatred they contained so alarming that Jun felt himself shudder at the sight.

"You," Eike snarled, "You did this. This is all your fault!" Still clutching Rosetta's lifeless body, Grimm raised his pistol and aimed it at Jun, who hastily waved his hands.

"Wait, I never-"

"Jun," Shinku warned, a little unnecessarily.

"It wasn't us!" Jun bleated, quite able to see the danger for himself. Eike wasn't listening though. Driven by grief and despair, he narrowed his eyes dangerously and squeezed the trigger, the gunshot disturbing the trees and causing them to rain cherry blossoms down upon them all.


	48. EP11: Bait and Switch

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE ELEVEN

Bait and Switch

* * *

Jun opened his eyes. He could do this because he was not dead. This came as something of a surprise to him. After taking a moment to confirm that he had not in fact just been ventilated by a tiny piece of high-speed metal, Jun refocused his gaze back upon the weapon that had recently been the centre of his attention. To his immense relief it was no longer aimed at him. This was not because Grimm had had a last second change of heart - rather, his brother Emil had shoved at his hand just enough for the shot to whistle past Jun's startled face.

"Stop it!" Emil pleaded, his eyes puffy and red from crying before. When his big brother ignored him and swerved the gun back to its original target, Emil moved to stand directly in front of the weapon, the barrel pressing against his shirt. He flung out his arms as if offering himself in Jun's place.

"Get out of the way," Eike warned, his voice dangerously low, almost feral.

"No! If you have to kill someone then kill me!"

Eike released Rosetta, the limp doll sliding silently onto the grass. He then stood and shoved Emil aside, effortlessly sending his brother hurtling to the ground. In three quick strides he was upon Jun, pressing the still-hot barrel of his gun against Jun's forehead. Jun, for his part, was far too terrified to do much more than shake and stare at Eike with wide, fearful eyes. His terror was not aided by the murderous look that Grimm held in his own eyes, twisting his features into a ghastly visage of hate.

"Please! Please Eike, stop it, just ... just stop ..." Emil whimpered, clutching at his arm, which would soon bruise thanks to the forceful shove Eike had given him. Even though his begging did not make Eike back down, it did succeed in giving him a moments pause, his finger freezing a hair's breadth away from pulling the trigger once more.

"Is this what she would have wanted?" said a calm, cool voice. Eike blinked and glanced down at the speaker. Shinku stared up at him, as she had remained standing beside Jun the entire time. Now she was between Eike and Jun, though her short height and Jun's adult stature prevented her from directly putting herself in harms way.

"What?"

"Rosetta, I believe her name was. You loved her very much, I can tell by how deeply her loss affects you," Shinku said, fixing him with her intense blue gaze, "I confess I was not well acquainted with her, yet I find it difficult to believe she would wish to see you behave in such a fashion."

Eike glared at her, some of the rage he felt towards Jun redirecting towards her instead. "You're right - you didn't know her. Rosetta would want me to avenge her death."

"But she is not dead," Shinku countered, "She is lost to you, it is true. Her soul sleeps now in a faraway place, a dark and lonely place indeed. I know because I have been there myself."

Eike very nearly snorted at her words, turning his full attention back to Jun, his grip on the gun tightening. "That sounds close enough to death to me that it makes no difference. You took her away from me. When everything I've done has been for her sake, you came and took her from me. She was irreplaceable, and now she's gone."

"I didn't-" Jun started to say, somehow finding his voice despite finding himself once again with a gun aimed at his very favourite head.

"Shut up!" Eike snarled, his hand trembling from the effort of simply not firing, every nerve screaming at him to do so. "All I wanted was to be with her! I promised her I would make her a real girl, make her human, so we could live our lives together and be happy. What chance do we have of that now?"

"None whatsoever, if you pull that trigger," Shinku answered for him. This puzzled him enough to stay his hand just a moment longer.

"What do you mean?" he demanded, frowning, his eyes blurring as grief threatened to overwhelm his boiling anger. Jun glanced down at Shinku without actually moving his head, wondering the same thing. Wordlessly, Shinku strode over to Rosetta, knelt beside her and laid her pink-haired head in her lap. Eike struggled to watch her from the corner of his eye without letting Jun out of his sight.

"The man you hold at gunpoint is your one and only chance to be reunited with her," Shinku explained patiently, "If you kill him then she shall truly be lost to you forever. Spare him, however, and perhaps he might be able to call her lost soul back from the darkness."

"You're lying," Eike muttered, not sounding entirely sure of that yet not willing to let a flicker of hope into his stricken heart. "Only a Maestro can do that, and they're about as rare as a blue rose."

Shinku regarded Eike with an expression of utter certainty, her lips forming a very slight smile. "In that case Mister Grimm, would you kindly stop pointing that weapon at my precious blue rose. He has a doll to repair."

Jun held his breath and Emil watched on with equal breathless anticipation. Eike finally tore his gaze away from Jun and stared intently at Shinku, trying to gauge the sincerity of her words. The fifth Rozen Maiden radiated confidence like a nova, there was no denying it. After a very strained silence, Eike lowered his gun.

"Sheesh," said Jun as he sagged with relief, "What is it with people trying to shoot me lately ..."

He knelt beside Shinku and the broken figure of Rosetta, biting his lip with worry. He did not share Shinku's certainty. Glancing nervously between Eike and Emil as they watched him, he leaned close to Shinku and lowered his voice to a whisper.

"Listen Shinku, I don't think I can do it."

"I have faith in you, Jun," Shinku assured him, her confidence in his skills never once wavering even in the face of his own self-doubt. "Were it not for you I would have only one arm. Were it not for you Kohaku would still be lost. Need I remind you her injuries were the same as this doll's?"

"But that was different!" Jun hissed.

"Oh?"

"Rozen helped me then. I couldn't have done it without him."

"And my arm?"

"That was in my dream world, Shinku, and besides that was just an arm. This is a little different."

"I see," Shinku tilted her head and regarded Jun with a faintly exasperated look that he seldom saw her use, "Very well then Jun, give me your hand."

Jun blinked and frowned. "Huh?"

Shinku extended her palm expectantly towards him. "Your hand, Jun. If you insist on being such a useless servant then I simply have no further use for you as my Medium. I will release you from our covenant together."

Jun pulled away from her as if she'd stung him, yanking his hand further still from her as if protective of the rose ring he wore upon it. "What? You can't be serious!"

"I trust that there is no levity in my voice? I am entirely serious."

Their eyes met, Shinku daring him to just give up and surrender the bond they shared together. She knew he wouldn't. He knew he wouldn't. He knew she knew he wouldn't. He silently cursed her stubborn pig-headed attitude. When Shinku saw him accept the situation she smirked teasingly.

"You did swear to serve me, Jun."

"I did," Jun admitted with a heavy sigh of resignation. Shinku shifted Rosetta towards him.

"If it makes it any easier, your life depends on your success."

Jun winced slightly and then scowled at her. "It makes it harder, Shinku, not easier."

He struggled to remember what Rozen had taught him during his brief visit. It was instinctive. He didn't need to consciously know how to fix her, his fingers knew what to do. He just had to relax and let them work, as if he were sewing or typing. Laying the broken doll flat on the soft ground before him, Jun extended his hands over her and tried to recall how he had felt the time he'd repaired Shinku's arm. The elation that had coursed through him. The self-assurance that he would fix her in order to bring a smile to her face, no matter how difficult the task might be. The desire to make her happy.

His hands moved. A shining golden thread sprang from his fingers and began to knit the open wound in Rosetta's torso shut, just as it had done before with Kohaku, and before that when it had reattached Shinku's dismembered arm. Eike gaped in astonishment at the sight and Emil audibly gasped. As the golden light shone in Shinku's eyes, she smiled warmly.

"Good boy, Jun. I knew you could do it."

Within seconds it was done, all trace of damage gone. Even Rosetta's dress was repaired flawlessly, leaving no indication that she'd ever been harmed to begin with. As Jun pulled his tingling warm hands away, Rosetta glowed with a bright inner light and floated into the air. The grass rippled as if blown by a fresh breeze, the cherry trees rustled and rained more blossoms down upon them. Finally the mended doll sailed back down into Jun's waiting hands, the aura of light fading from her.

Rosetta opened her eyes. She could do this because she was alive. This came as something of a surprise to her.

"Eike?" she whispered, blinking up at Jun. He balked slightly at this.

"Err ... no, not exactly."

"You did it ..." Eike breathed, scarcely believing what he was seeing, "How? You can't be a ... that was cheironomy," he regarded Jun with a faint expression of awe and amazement, "You're a _Maestro_."

Feeling light-headed and a little giddy, Jun stood and held Rosetta out towards him. When she saw Eike she all but sprang at him, the two embracing as if they hadn't seen each other in years. Eike actually laughed out loud and excitedly spun around the garden with her. Shinku stood and brushed some stray cherry blossom from her dress, whilst Jun sank to his knees, utterly exhausted and drained.

"That was amazing," said Emil, approaching him and rubbing at his swollen eyes, "How did you _do_ that?"

Jun stared at him for a long moment. "Magic fingers," he finally replied, wiggling his digits at the boy. Emil chuckled at that. When Jun turned his attention back towards the happy couple he remembered some of the things Eike had said before. Things Jun had been too preoccupied to pay attention to at the time, owing to having a gun shoved in his face. Thinking back to them now, his eyes narrowed somewhat.

"Grimm," he called out. Eike stopped and turned to him, still exhilarated. Jun pressed on. "You said before that you wanted to be together. That you just wanted to be happy."

"Yes."

Jun sighed heavily and removed his glasses. "You don't need Pandora's Box for that. She doesn't have to be human for you to live your life with her. If you really love her then it shouldn't matter to you that she's a doll. Should it?"

Eike shook his head, wordless. Shinku meanwhile stared at Jun, and Jun stared back. When he spoke again his words were meant as much for her as they were for Eike and Rosetta.

"Just because she's a doll doesn't mean you can't both love one another. You can still be happy together, because she's just as much of a person as any human. That's what really matters. If I were you, I wouldn't waste a wish on making her human. I'd wish to be with her forever. I'd wish ..." Jun smiled at Shinku, "I'd wish to live happily ever after with her. Just the way she is."

* * *

Safely inside her own N-Field, Kirakishou set Pandora's Box down upon a crystal altar. She danced and hopped before it, giggling uncontrollably, barely able to contain her own excited anticipation. At long last she had the thing she'd sought. The Box. The means to end the Alice Game once and for all, and for her - the seventh Rozen Maiden doll - to at last become Alice.

Taking the key from around her neck, she slid it into the lock and then with exaggerated reverence opened Pandora's Box.

* * *

_"Okay," said Kanaria, "Listen up everyone, because this is where the plan gets a teensy bit complicated ... remember a while back when the seventh doll stole Miss Kashiwaba's soul tree?"_

_Jun grumbled and rubbed the side of his head. "Not likely to forget that in a hurry. Do you have to bring it up again?"_

_"What's your point?" Suiseiseki snapped irritably. Kanaria scowled at her, annoyed at the interruption._

_"My point is, you guys were able to find her tree by using the emotional bond she shared with Jun to follow the connection between their dream worlds."_

_"Yeah, so?" said Jun, "How does that help us here?"_

_Kanaria groaned. "Isn't it obvious? We have spare doll cases at Micchan's new shop. All you have to do is alter one to make it look like Pandora's Box. Suiseiseki stays here with Miss Kashiwaba and the fake Box, whilst Souseiseki comes with us to steal the real Box. As soon as we lay our hands on the real thing ..."_

* * *

_Tomoe flipped open her cell phone and opened the new text message she'd received. It was very brief, consisting of just one short word._

_Go._

_"It's time," she said, turning to Suiseiseki and showing her the message. The Gardener doll nodded and called forth Sui Dream._

_"Ready, human?"_

_Tomoe set her phone down and laid back on the couch. "I'm ready."_

_Seconds later a swirling grey vortex opened up above the sleeping girl, a doorway into her dream world. Hoisting the fake Pandora's Box Jun had prepared earlier, Suiseiseki leapt into the waiting doorway and vanished from the Sakurada house._

* * *

_"Souseiseki!" Suiseiseki waved cheerfully to her twin sister, who approached from across the branches of Yggdrasil, the world tree. The Gardener dolls stopped as they met, each holding an ebony black doll case. __In Souseiseki's hands was the real Pandora's Box, snatched mere minutes ago by Shinku and Hinaichigo. In Suiseiseki's grasp was the fake that would take its place._

_"How are things going on your end?" Suiseiseki asked._

_"Alright, so far. We did run into a little trouble, but I think it'll be okay."_

_"Oh?"_

_"There's a boy named Emil who caught us stealing the Box," Souseiseki explained, "But he seems to want to help us._

_Exchanging a few more words, they each went their separate ways. Souseiseki followed the branch Suiseiseki had just came from, which would lead to Tomoe's dream. Suiseiseki would retrace her twin's steps and emerge in Jun's dream._

_All according to plan._

* * *

_Suiseiseki floated down from the doorway into Jun's dream, landing lightly in the security office with the replica Box in tow._

_"Suiseiseki! You made it!" Hinaichigo exclaimed, waving her arms enthusiastically._

_"Well of course I did, what did you expect?" She hastily closed the doorway to dreams and kicked Jun until he awoke._

_"Ow! Will you knock that off you rotten demonic little doll?"_

_"Quiet human, and take this." Suiseiseki held up the fake Pandora's Box. Grumbling, Jun took it from her and then stifled a yawn, still a touch sleepy since Lempicka had put him out like a light. A moment later the office door opened and Emil returned._

_"I think it's safe, but you better hurry, I don't think you have much time ..."_

* * *

Kirakishou peered into the open Box. Slowly, she reached into it and removed the contents.

It was a Detective Kunkun plushie. Kirakishou squeezed it, causing it to emit a digitally recorded message in the voice of the great detective himself.

"See you again next time, Kunkun!"

The seventh doll twitched once, then twice. Then she screamed and tore Kunkun apart. She scattered stuffing and stitching in a frenzy of rage, before turning her fury on the Box, smashing it to splinters. Finally she fell to her knees, threw back her head and shrieked, the sound echoing through the empty crystal hallways of her palatial N-Field.

When she could screech no more, Kirakishou lowered her head and fixed her single eye upon the odd figure sitting across the room.

"Fair is foul and foul is fair," said Laplace no Ma tauntingly.

Kirakishou glared at the demon, her breathing fast and shallow, her rage still boiling just bellow the surface. She had been tricked. Duped. Swindled. Cheated. She had tried to play nice and let them all off easy, but no longer.

No. No more games. No more games but one.

"It is time," she said at last, "to begin the Alice Game once more ..."

* * *

Laplace: And so at last we come to it ... the final Alice Game. The curtain has risen upon the grand finale and the stage is set for the ultimate performance. You will not want to miss this. There will be action, drama, romance, mystery and surprises enough to dazzle and confound you. Truly all good things must come to an end, and now the bell tolls for the end of the Rozen Maidens. It has been an enjoyable ride, an amusing diversion, but soon the light of truth shall at last shine brightly upon the victor of the Alice Game. One by one the players shall leave the stage, until only one remains. Enjoy the final chapter of this fairy tale, for there shall be no encore. Next time, on Rozen Maiden Märchen ... will there be a happily ever after?


	49. EP12: Hope

The first chapter of episode twelve. The beginning of the end. *dramatic music* Okay, so this will probably be the longest episode of Märchen by the time it's done. I think I actually have enough material for this episode to fill out two episodes, but I want to keep the number of episodes the same as both seasons of the anime. Just because. Please no complaints this chapter about historical accuracy. I'm a fanfiction writer not a historian. This is just for fun.

For anyone interested, there are several Alice in Wonderland references throughout this chapter (well, one or two anyway). One of them is the thing about six o'clock - the Hatter and March Hare were trapped forever at six o'clock by Time, apparently, and if you recall a few episodes ago the clocktower in Lebensbaum was stopped at that time. I don't know why I bring it up, it's not important. Just little easter egg shoutouts I guess. Anyway, this chapter is something of a flashback of sorts. We return to our regular broadcast next chapter. In the meantime please enjoy.

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE TWELVE

Hope

* * *

BOOM!

Mary Ann yelped with alarm at the sound of the explosion, arms flailing in an effort to retain her balance upon the stool on which she stood. Since she was holding a stack of plates at the time the end result was not pretty. Or quiet. Further startled by the plates smashing upon the storeroom floor, she promptly lost her balance altogether and joined the scattered fragments a moment later.

"Oww ..." the housemaid winced in pain as she got unsteadily to her feet. Not again. That was the third time this week. She was going to be in so much trouble, yes she was ...

The explosion had come from the direction of the kitchen. Of course it had. As Mary Ann rushed there to see what had caused it, she found her answer soon enough when a young blond boy emerged, grinning triumphantly at something glittering he held in his gloved hand. He was wearing a pair of goggles and a thick leather apron, and his face was stained with soot. Smoke curled off his sleight frame as if he were an overcooked turkey.

"Eureka!" he exclaimed excitedly. Mary Ann clutched at her own apron, her face contorting to show concern.

"Master Rozen! Whatever happened?"

"Success! Ha! And she said I was too stupid to do it!"

The maid was flummoxed. "Do what, Master?"

Rozen thrust the shiny object he held towards her, and Mary Ann was astonished to see that it was a simply marvellous blue diamond almost the size of his fist. The sight of it took her breath away.

"Flawless, d'you see? Perfect clarity. And she said I couldn't do it. I can't wait to show her."

Mary Ann was still hopelessly lost. She gaped at the young master, not following a word. "Who said? What have you done?" Peering over his shoulder at the smoke pouring from the kitchen and the accompanying acrid reek, she added, "You never blew up the kitchen again, did you Master Rozen?"

"Little bit, yes," Rozen admitted, not the least bit concerned by this fact. Mary Ann whined.

"But you know Lady Matilda said you weren't to do that no more, not after the last time. She'll be very upset, she will. What shall I say to her?"

Rozen waved his hand dismissively as he strode past the maid. "Tell her Ada did it."

He left her quivering and muttering outside the charcoal covered kitchen and made his way upstairs, shedding his apron and gloves as he went, draping them over the nearest available thing to hand. All the while he kept admiring the brilliant blue diamond he held, exhilarated by his success. It was sheer perfection. Where once there had been flaws, scratches, marks and veins, now there were none to be seen. He had tackled Pandora's little challenge and soundly overcome it. He couldn't wait to go see her and rub her nose in it.

"There you are!" an exuberant voice squealed with delight. The next thing Rozen knew he was lying flat on his back in the hallway outside his bedroom, his sister Ada pinning him to the floor. Despite inhabiting the body of a doll, she was remarkably strong. Rozen was also remarkably not.

"Ada!" he admonished, struggling to get up. She was like an overexcited puppy. If she had a tail it would be wagging back and forth right now.

"I've been waiting all morning, _you_ promised you would take me out today. You do remember, don't you? Thirty nine hours twelve minutes fifty three seconds ago it was. I haven't forgotten you know."

"Yes," said Rozen, "I can see that."

"Well? You _are_ going to take me out, aren't you? You promised."

He sighed. There was no getting around it. He was just going to have to take her with him. It was that or have her spend the next few days sulking. He didn't mind, really, it was just that people started to take notice when he went for a walk with his dead sister. Some of the gossip was quite far-fetched, ranging from a secret twin to necromancy. No one had correctly guessed that his sister's spirit was inhabiting the body of a doll made in her exact likeness which had mysteriously shown up the night after her funeral.

Not that he blamed them. It wasn't the first thing that came to mind.

"Of course I will. I'm going to the clocktower to see Pandora, you can come with me."

Ada gave another squeal of delight and began kissing her big brother repeatedly like a woodpecker tapping away at a troublesome tree. Rozen couldn't help laughing as he tried to fend her off.

"Stop that! You know Matilda doesn't like it."

Ada did stop, snorting derisively as she did. "Humph. Big sis is just jealous because I have you all to myself."

"Yes, I'm sure that's it," Rozen said when she finally let him get up. Their elder sister was jealous, and _not_ freaked out to find that her younger brother shared a bed with a life-size doll possessed by the soul of their dear departed twelve year old little sis. Of course not. That would just be silly, wouldn't it?

"Oh! What's this?" Ada snatched the blue diamond from her brother as they entered his bedroom. She held it up to the light and examined it intently, mesmerized by its faceted surface.

"That's Pandora's puzzle," Rozen explained as he began scrubbing his face clean at the washstand, struggling to remove the traces of soot. "She gave it to me months ago and challenged me to remove the flaws and imperfections from it. I finally figured out how to do it last night when I saw Mary Ann sweeping up that glass she broke."

Ada's expression darkened rapidly as she lowered the diamond. She turned and pouted at her brother. "I wish you didn't spend so much time with her."

"Pandora?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Rozen glanced across at his sister and smirked. "You're surely not jealous?"

Ada scoffed and turned her nose up at him. "Certainly not! I just don't trust her. She's arrogant, pretentious and far too mysterious for my liking. No good shall ever come of her, dear brother, of that I am certain."

He couldn't argue with that, as Ada had summed up Pandora quit succinctly. He'd discovered an ebony black doll case in the topmost room of the clocktower, about a year ago it was now. Inside was a magnificent doll, smaller than Ada. Taking the winding key he found lying within the box alongside her, Rozen had wound the little doll up and his life had never been the same since.

Arrogant? Certainly. Pretentious? Oh yes, very much so. Mysterious? He still knew very little about her. Supposedly she was the same Pandora from ancient Greek legend, created by the gods themselves as a gift to humanity. Her name literally meant 'all-gifted'. Pandora was enigmatic to say the least, and any attempt on Rozen's part to try to understand her or learn more about her was met by obtuse riddles and nonsensical remarks.

Setting aside the blue diamond, Ada turned her attention to a sheathe of papers on the desk in front of the window. She spread them out on the polished wooden surface, gazing at the sketches with wide-eyed amazement.

"Who are all these girls?" she asked, resting her fingertips upon the paper. Rozen finished washing and dried himself off.

"Hmm? Oh, those are the dolls I told you about. My future daughters."

The Rozen Maidens. Seven dolls he'd met in the distant future, each one calling him 'Father'. He'd drawn them all so he wouldn't forget what they looked like. He wanted to one day make them exactly the way he remembered.

"They're beautiful ..." Ada whispered. Frowning, she picked up one of the sketches and examined it, glancing over the rest. "Which one is this?"

Rozen peered over her shoulder, recognising the figure in the drawing at once. "Shinku," he said, "The fifth Maiden. Her name means crimson. That dress she wears is red, and she has blond hair and blue eyes. Reminds me a little of Pandora sometimes, at least in terms of personality."

"You've drawn more pictures of her than any of the others," Ada pointed out.

"Have I?"

"Yes. And all of her pictures were on the top of the pile," she went on. She could be quite sharp sometimes, Rozen reflected. He turned away, saying nothing. Unfortunately she wasn't about to let it drop.

"She's your _favourite_, isn't she?" Ada teased, adding extra emphasis to 'favourite' in a way that made Rozen flinch. He could feel heat rising to his cheeks, and he tried to distract himself by fiddling with his ribbon tie.

"It's not like that," he mumbled. Ada giggled and thrust one of the sketches of Shinku in front of his face.

"Big brother has special feelings for number five, doesn't he? Oh yes he does I think ..."

Rozen snatched the sketch from her and hastily gathered up the other drawings, before shoving them all into a desk drawer. "She's my _daughter_, Ada," he pointed out, trying not to blush too much lest she notice, "Of course I have feelings for her."

Ada clasped her hands behind her back and rocked from side to side, grinning gleefully at his discomfort. "They're all your daughters, but you drew lots more pictures of her than you did of the others. You like her. You like her a lot."

Scowling now, Rozen scooped up the blue diamond and pocketed it, before rounding on his teasing sister. "Ada; stop it, or else I wont let you come with me," he warned. Ada bobbed her head once and then fell silent, though the expression on her face continued to taunt him as they set off together. After stopping at Ada's room to pick up her parasol, they proceeded to the entrance hall, informing a frayed looking Mary Ann that they were going out for a while.

Outside, they walked hand in hand down the garden path, and Ada spoke up once more.

"I'm not jealous of Pandora," she said playfully, "But I am of Shinku."

Rozen said nothing.

* * *

Every day Rozen visited Pandora at the clocktower, as she insisted he bring her snacks and make tea for her. She treated him like a servant, even though he technically held the title of Count. Complaints were met with either exasperation or, more often, a swift crack from her mallet. Rozen still had the bruises to show for his defiance. He put up with it because as evasive as she was about herself, Pandora was nevertheless a wellspring of knowledge relating to alchemy, the occult and N-Field physics. He learned a lot from putting up with her abrasive nature.

Nevertheless it meant that every day he had to climb the clocktower all the way to the very top, and his usual reward once he reached the summit was a sore kneecap as Pandora disciplined him for being late. Once, feeling especially flippant, Rozen donned a suit of armour he'd put together himself. After taking his sweet time to climb the clocktower, he'd mocked Pandora's futile efforts to ineffectually discipline him.

Whereupon she'd summoned her artificial spirit, Hope, which proceeded to magically transmute Rozen's suit of armour into solid gold. Unable to even stand whilst wearing so much weight, Rozen had fallen flat on his back and couldn't lift so much as a finger to get up. Muttering profusely as he lay there, weighed down by probably the most valuable suit of armour in the world, he was forced to wait as Pandora silently made herself some tea. Once finished she climbed onto his chest, opened his visor, and then upended her cup.

It sounded harsh, but it was after all only tea. Apparently the last person to taunt her so had not been as fortunate. Rozen still shuddered at the mental picture conjured by her vivid description. Anyway, she'd been considerate enough to put milk in her tea before doing it, so it didn't burn too badly.

Rozen reached the top of the tower with minutes to spare, and was scarcely out of breath. Though he might have the physical strength of a newborn baby, a year of climbing the clocktower virtually every day had made him fit enough to run a mile. Ada didn't fare so well though, and she was quite red-faced by the time they reached the top. Rozen was still baffled by this. She was a doll. Technically she lacked things like lungs and blood flow, so there was no reason at all for her to get tired or out of breath. Yet she did. She got hungry and thirsty as well, as did Pandora. Why this should be he couldn't fathom.

Living dolls were fascinating, really.

"You don't have muscles," he explained to his huffing and puffing little sister, "How on earth can you be tired?"

Ada took a moment to get her breath back before answering, wafting herself with a decorative and brightly coloured folding silk fan. "I haven't the faintest idea, but my ball-joints ache and my legs are trembling. My chest is burning quite fiercely as well. I do wish this tower would stop spinning so."

Chuckling, Rozen scooped Ada up into his arms without any warning, causing her to give a startled cry. She did not protest however as he carried her through the doorway and into a spacious, airy room beyond. He set her down upon a rosewood settee, took a step back and then gave her a gallant bow.

"Better?"

"Much, thank you," Ada smiled, still fanning herself.

The room was stocked with old yet well-crafted furniture, the bookcases filled with leather bound volumes, a silver tea set resting upon a fine table. There was the constant sound of the clocktower mechanism in the background, ever present, though Rozen had spent so much time here that he scarcely seemed to notice it anymore. In one corner of the room was an impromptu workshop and alchemy laboratory where Rozen sometimes occupied himself under the condescending eye of Pandora.

And there, standing before a stained glass window overlooking Lebensbaum, was the doll herself.

Pandora.

She was a sight to behold, wearing a black and crimson dress that was frilled, ruffled and beribboned to an excessive degree. Her long glossy black hair fell loosely about her shoulders and back. She stared out at the town below her with a pair of ruby red eyes that drank in the sight, taking in every minute detail. She did not turn or make any move as Rozen and Ada entered the room, and did not react in the slightest as Rozen set about preparing her tea. When he was done he brought her cup and saucer over to her and presented them to her, the scalding brown liquid giving off a sweet aroma.

"You're quiet today," Rozen observed as she turned and took the tea from him. Pandora sipped at it, staring off into space for a long while. Finally she lowered the cup back onto the saucer and blinked up at Rozen.

"You did it," she said, her voice elegant and rich, with just a hint of faint amusement about it. Rozen grinned and produced the blue diamond, holding it out for her inspection.

"Figured it out last night. So simple in retrospect."

"Yes," Pandora said, tilting her head slightly, "And yet it took you all this time. Really, if you had applied yourself fully you would have solved such a simple challenge in far shorter order."

Rozen wagged a finger at her, still smiling. "You're not going to provoke me, Pandora. You said I couldn't do it at all. You said I was too stupid to work it out."

"Actually," Ada interjected from the settee, "I believe you said her exact words were: _'Your limited cognitive functions are woefully insufficient to accomplish such a trifling feat. Take care you do not strain your brain unduly in the attempt'_."

Rozen gestured at his sister. "Yes, that."

Pandora smirked, just barely. "I was merely endeavouring to instil the necessary motivation in you. It would appear I succeeded."

Rozen tossed the diamond into the air and caught it, so excited to have succeeded that he just had to explain how he had accomplished the feat. "No matter how I tried, there was just no way to refine a stone of this size. I thought to myself 'If only it were smaller I could do it'. Then our maid dropped a glass at my feet last night and it came to me. What if I broke the stone down into smaller pieces? So I did - I split it into seven fragments and refined each of those, before fusing them back together again. Result - one large, flawless blue diamond." He presented it with a flourish and a fresh smile. "I thought I might name it Hope. Seems appropriate somehow."

Pandora sipped at her tea, before casting a wry look at Rozen. "The Hope diamond? Really now Rozen, that _is _silly."

* * *

Over the course of the next few hours it became obvious to Rozen that something was different about Pandora. She seemed distracted, and passed up several opportunities to scathingly chastise him. She was also preoccupied with the time - indeed it seemed she was forever glancing at her pocket watch, fidgeting with almost nervous apprehension.

"Are you going to tell me what's bothering you?" Rozen finally asked, unable to contain himself any longer. Pandora bowed her head and sighed heavily, before directing her scarlet gaze at his sister.

"Ada, Rozen will be leaving presently. Would you kindly wait for him at the bottom of the clocktower? I wish to have a moment alone with him."

Rozen had to convince her himself, so overcome with suspicion and curiosity was she. When finally she departed, leaving them alone together, Rozen turned away from the door to find Pandora once more standing before the stained glass window overlooking the town. He sensed that she was deeply troubled by something, yet he couldn't imagine what it could be.

"You're starting to scare me, Pandora."

"Then you know how I feel," she replied mysteriously, "For I am also afraid."

"Of what? Are you in danger?"

Pandora sighed again and shook her head, eyes closed wearily. "It is not that. I ..." she hesitated, before opening her eyes and turning to face him. "I spoke to my father."

Rozen stared at her. Until now she had never once mentioned her father - her creator, presumably. Rozen had asked, but she had always remained evasive. Of course he had been curious as to who had really made her. He knew the legends. Supposedly Pandora had been built by the gods themselves. How could he not wonder?

Pandora glanced away from him, her gaze sweeping over the contents of the room that had been her home for the past year. "He told me that my time has come."

"For what?" Rozen asked, feeling uneasy about this whole conversation.

"For me to sleep."

He didn't understand. "I don't understand," he said.

"Of course not. You're a foolish human with frightfully limited mental faculties," Pandora replied haughtily, struggling to try and force some good humour into the situation.

"Pandora ..."

She faced the stained glass window once more, gently resting her fingertips against it, her expression one of resignation. "When the clock strikes six a few minutes from now, I shall wind down," she explained, "When that happens, you will not be able to wind me up again. If you try it will not wake me. I shall continue to sleep on."

Rozen still didn't fully understand. Well, he understood _what _she was saying, he just didn't understand the _why_ of it. He took a step towards her, hands extended in her direction. "What are you saying? Did you do something wrong? Is your father punishing you?"

"Just the opposite, Rozen. I have done everything he has asked of me."

"Then what? Pandora, help me to understand this!"

She shook her head. "That I cannot do."

"Pandora!"

"It is simply time for me to sleep. I am sorry Rozen, that is all there is to it."

There was a loud clunking sound as the clocktower mechanism moved the hands on the clock face. It was now six o'clock. Whereas normally Rozen had learned to tune the clockwork sounds out and not hear them, this time they sounded deafening to him. The first strike of the hour felt like a knife in his heart.

"And there's nothing I can do about it?" he asked. Pandora lowered her hand and faced him.

"No. Nothing."

It struck again. Rozen flinched at the sound. He could scarcely believe it. Pandora had been his friend for this past year. They'd been on adventures together. She'd taught him things he never would have imagined. Seeing her almost every day had become such an integral part of his life that losing her felt like losing a piece of himself. The clock struck again.

"When will you wake up?"

Pandora crossed the room to where her ebony doll case lay. She knelt before it and opened it up, revealing the white cushioned interior within. As the clocktower struck for the fourth time, Pandora's artificial spirit emerged from her case to greet her, a tiny golden pinpoint of glowing light. It pulsed at her as it floated before her. Pandora paused for a brief moment before answering.

"When all seems lost. When all hope has faded. Then I shall awaken and embrace the light of truth."

As the clock struck for the fifth time, Pandora climbed into her case and curled up inside of it, her spirit, Hope, joining her once more. Rozen knelt before the case, his hand resting upon the lid as he gazed down at the doll within. Their eyes met. Pandora smiled faintly.

"Be seeing you," she said.

The clock struck for the sixth and final time. Pandora's eyes closed and did not open again. Rozen continued to watch her for a while longer. Finally he forced himself to shut the doll case. He hunted around the room for the key to it and then locked it, before tucking the key safely away about his person.

She would be safe. No matter what happened there was simply no way to break into Pandora's Box. It could only be opened with the key, and as long as he held onto it he needn't worry that something might happen to her. He would treasure it, keep it safe, until it was time for her to awaken. Whenever that might be.

As Rozen stood and turned, he found himself looking at the large stained glass window that Pandora had been drawn to so often today. It depicted a striking image.

A beautiful angel, standing amidst a field of roses.


	50. EP12: Intermission

I wasn't going to update so soon after the last chapter, and when I did it was going to be much more serious than this. Still, when the idea struck I couldn't stop myself, so here's a silly little bonus chapter before things get really serious. It's short. It's stupid. It was fun. Next chapter I promise I will get back on track. What the heck, enjoy. Or don't.

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE TWELVE

Intermission

* * *

"Ohhh, c'mon Jun-kun!"

"Forget it Nori!" Jun said, waving his hands to dismiss her suggestion, "Do I have to remind you that mom and dad will be here the day after tomorrow? How the heck do you think they'd react if they saw me like this?" He gestured to draw attention to the fact that he was still physically in his mid twenties, thanks to Shinku tinkering around with his time key several days ago. Nori wilted dejectedly.

"It's just that you look so-" she began. Not wanting to hear his sister gush over how pretty he was again, Jun cut her off.

"And I'll look this way again. Just in ten years time when I get there the normal way. For now though I'd quite like to go back to the way I was." He turned to Shinku and crossed his arms. "Shinku?"

"As you wish, Jun. Prepare yourself; this will require a great deal of your energy."

She raised her hand and called forth her magic once more, filling the living room with a radiant crimson glow cast by her rose ring. Almost immediately Jun's ring flared brightly in response, and he clutched at his hand as it burned him. His face contorted with pain, teeth clenched together as he struggled to keep from crying out. Nori's hand shot to her mouth and she gasped at the sight. She knew exactly how it felt, having endured the sensation of Kirakishou sucking the energy from her during her brief spell as the seventh doll's Medium.

Jun shrank. There was no other way to describe it. Within seconds he became shorter and smaller, as if someone had recorded a time-lapse video of him growing up and then played it back in reverse from end to beginning. In ten seconds he de-aged ten years.

More or less.

"There, that should suffice," said Shinku primly as she lowered her hand. Nori blinked and peered down at Jun, her hand still clutched to her mouth. Her expression had changed however from one of sympathy to confusion.

"Err, Shinku?" she said tentatively.

Shinku stared at Jun as he whined plaintively about how much that had hurt. He hadn't yet realised the problem, but he would any second now. Nori and Shinku though could see immediately what had gone wrong.

"Oh dear ..." said Shinku.

"Wait a second, what's up with my voice?" Jun asked as he finally became aware that something was not quite right. He glanced down at himself and then looked from one hand to the other. Or at least tried to. He couldn't see his hands, owing to the sleeves of his shirt and suit covering them completely. This might be because the suit had been tailored for a twenty five year old Jun, whilst the Jun currently wearing it was only seven.

He was supposed to be fourteen. Shinku had overshot and wound his age back to half what it was meant to be.

"Aaaahhhh!" Jun yelped as he realised this, his voice quite a bit higher than normal. His adult-sized glasses slipped off his face and fell to the floor, right next to his trousers. Thankfully the shirt and suit jacket were so long on him now that they made up for the lack of said trousers. He did look ridiculous though, it had to be said. Like a little boy that had tried to dress up in his father's business suit. Eyes wide with alarm, he gaped at Shinku, horrified.

"SHINKU! What the hell did you _do_ to me?"

Jun was now much closer to Shinku's height than he'd ever been before, and the Rozen doll barely had to look up at him at all to meet his panicky gaze. She reached up and adjusted her bonnet, somewhat at a loss to explain the miscalculation. Before she could think up words of apology or assurance, Nori beamed with delight at the sight of him and clasped her hands together, her eyes very nearly sparkling with joy.

"Soooooo cuuuuuuute!" she squealed. Jun turned his attention from Shinku to Nori.

"Uh-oh."

What followed could _only _be described as a glomp. It was far too enthusiastic to be likened to a mere hug or embrace. Jun struggled to fight his sister off as she clung tightly to him, yelling obscenities one would not expect to hear from an actual seven year old, or at least not from a properly raised one. Nori utterly ignored his protests and treated him as if he were an adorable and fluffy plushie, much to his dismay.

"_I - swear!_ Honestly, people complain that _I_ am the loud one around here, but I am so not causing this racket!" Suiseiseki strutted into the living room to investigate the source of the noise, stopping next to Shinku. "Have you finished turning the puny runt back into his normal puny geeky gawky self yet?" she asked. When Shinku did not answer, Suiseiseki turned to regard Nori and Jun, her mismatching eyes growing wide at the ridiculous spectacle of them both.

"Nori! Get the hell _off _me!"

"Juuun-kuuuun!"

"How many times have I told you, I am _not_ a freaking teddy bear! Let go! ARGH! Dammit Nori, get yourself a boyfriend already, you're freaking me out!"

Jun's admonishments might have carried more weight were they not delivered by a squeaky seven year old voice that merely added to his cuteness in Nori's eyes. Shinku sighed and glanced at her pocket watch. Somehow she didn't think Jun would be agreeable to making her tea anytime soon. How annoying. Suiseiseki continued to stare for several seconds longer before she fell over laughing.

* * *

In the end Shinku had to slap Nori with her hair to get the girl to stop squeezing Jun, and even then Nori kept giving him the kind of look that would probably get her locked up were their respective genders reversed. When it came to cute little things, Nori had about as much willpower as Micchan. Less when it came to her brother, and seeing Jun physically reverted to the way he was when he was seven pretty much reduced her to a gibbering wreck.

The bad news was that Shinku couldn't correct her little mistake until at least a day had gone by, otherwise it could kill Jun. As Mediums went, it was a miracle he'd been able to take the kind of energy drain required to pull off such a time reversal in the first place. Shinku didn't dare risk using any more of his power, and she was the only doll besides Kirakishou capable of such time manipulation.

So he was stuck that way for the day. There was still the question of what he was going to wear. He couldn't spend the day in a suit fitted for an adult, but none of his own clothes would fit him either. Finally Suiseiseki announced that she had a solution, and dragged Jun into the storeroom containing the mirror. A brief trip to the N-Field later, Suiseiseki returned and declared the problem solved.

"Where's Jun?" Souseiseki asked her twin. Suiseiseki glanced around. The door to the storeroom behind her was now shut. She frowned up at it.

"Jun?" she called out.

"Go away!" came his muffled reply. Suiseiseki banged on the door.

"Open up, you! Don't you want to show everyone how nice you look?"

"No! I'm not coming out!"

Shinku and Souseiseki exchanged wary looks at this. "Suiseiseki," Shinku said carefully, "What precisely was your solution if I may ask?"

The Gardener doll shrugged as if it were simplicity itself. "Remember when puny Ichigo dragged that Tomoe girl into her N-Field to play with her? She used her powers to dress the girl up and make her look just like her puny self. I did the same kind of thing to Jun."

"You didn't," Souseiseki said, burying her face in her hand. Her twin nodded enthusiastically.

"I so did. I swear Souseiseki, I should have done this a long time ago. The puny human looks so much better this way, honestly!"

"You put Jun in a _dress_?"

"What?" Suiseiseki seemed puzzled by her twin's tone, and shrugged again, "It's not like it's the first time for him. Didn't you see the pictures that crazy Micchan lady took of him during that photo shoot? I'm sure I showed them to you Souseiseki."

Shinku hammered on the door with her cane and demanded that Jun come out at once. He stubbornly refused, and had either locked the door or was holding it shut, as her own attempts to open it got nowhere.

"Jun! You are my servant," Shinku scolded, hammering on the door again with her cane, "I command you to open this door immediately!"

"Like hell! I've had enough of you guys screwing around with me! I'm on strike!"

"Can't say I blame him," Souseiseki muttered darkly, knowing only too well how it felt to be forced into a dress against one's will. Shinku however had had enough, and wanted her tea already. Thinking the matter over for a second, a particularly devious possibility occurred to her. It was quite evil actually, and normally she wouldn't sink so low, but under the circumstances ...

"Jun, if you do not open this door at once then I shall have no choice but to fetch Nori and inform her of your predicament."

Silence. The twins stared at Shinku in shock, astonished that she would use such a diabolical threat. It was bad enough that Jun was stuck being seven years old again, but if Nori learned he was in a dress _as well _... it didn't bear thinking about. She probably _would _do something that'd get her locked up. As ultimatums went, it was borderline blackmail. Jun would probably be better off calling Suigintou a worthless piece of junk to her face. At least then the resultant scars would be physical rather than the deep psychological wounds Nori would inflict upon him.

The door opened.

"Oh my," said Shinku.

An intensely embarrassed Jun Sakurada emerged wearing a sailor fuku uniform, his short thick hair tied in pigtails with ribbons and his face wearing the most miserable expression imaginable. Suiseiseki giggled, despite being the one responsible for dressing him thusly.

"Shut up," said Jun.

"I never said anything," Suiseiseki protested innocently. Jun glared at her. If the power of the Force actually existed he'd happily go to the Dark Side just to choke her with it.

"I'm pre-empting you. And for the record I hate you guys. I can't imagine what I ever did to deserve this."

Shinku finally regained her senses and cleared her throat lightly. "I fail to see why you are making such a fuss, Jun; it was my understanding that you enjoy dressing in female attire. Why else would Suiseiseki adorn you in such garments?"

Jun glowered at the doll in question, his tiny hands clenched tight at his sides. "I can think of a few reasons ..."

Suiseiseki closed her eyes and extended her hands dismissively. "Quit your whining, you. I so did you a favour, the very least you could do is thank me for helping out."

Jun couldn't take it anymore. He pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes and whimpered. "First you guys turn me into an adult. Then you turn me into a kid. And now you've dressed me up as a schoolgirl. Do me a favour will you?"

"What?"

"STOP HELPING ME!"


	51. EP12: Ballad of Fallen Angels

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE TWELVE

Ballad of Fallen Angels

* * *

Pandora's Box sat on the coffee table in the living room, drinking the light like a dark star. Just looking at the thing made the dolls uneasy, and they could each sense something ... peculiar emanating from within. Something about the Box resonated with them in a way that they found difficult to articulate. Something eerily familiar.

Jun was hiding upstairs, locked in his room in an effort to avoid being seen by his sister. He was using the opportunity to catch up on his homework and study for the upcoming entrance exams, which he could still do despite his current age-related setback. Never one to pass up an opportunity to torment the poor boy, Suiseiseki had called up Micchan and told her about his situation. Judging by the delighted squealing noises she'd made she would no doubt soon be pounding on the door with her digital camera at the ready to take pictures. Between Micchan and Nori, Jun would be very lucky to make it through the day with his dignity intact.

In the meantime Shinku and the twins sat sullenly in the living room, staring at Pandora's Box as they considered their own situation. Thanks to Kanaria's surprisingly brilliant plan of switching the real Box for a fake, they'd been able to keep a hold of the thing despite Kirakishou's untimely intervention at the Angel's Home doll auction. On top of that they also knew now that the seventh doll had the key to open it. This fact made Souseiseki uneasy.

"Doesn't that mean that Father gave it to her?" the boyish doll voiced her concern aloud when the matter came up. "Out of all the Rozen Maidens, Father entrusted the key to this Box to her. I can't help wondering if that means he wants Kirakishou to open it and become Alice."

Shinku shook her head firmly, unwilling to accept that premise. "I do not believe so. It seems more likely that Father gave her the key and then set her to sleep deep within the N-Field so as to keep it safe from others who might seek to use it. If nothing else Kirakishou _is_ one of the strongest Rozen Maidens; who better to protect it than her?"

She neglected to add the real reason for her doubt. Namely that Rozen had personally told Shinku he wanted _her_ to become Alice. If he had given Kirakishou the key for safekeeping as Shinku believed, then he had chosen wisely, because the seventh doll had done just that. The only problem was that now Shinku had to get the key from her if she wanted to open the Box and become Alice. The mere thought of fighting Kirakishou made her shudder. Each time Shinku had confronted her, Kirakishou had effortlessly dominated the encounters. Her power was frightening to behold, and that was without having a Medium. If Kirakishou actually did decide to get herself a Medium then she would be dangerously close to invincible.

Thus far, the only thing that had ever come even close to defeating Kirakishou in battle was Hinaichigo, and that was with Rozen himself as her Medium. Not exactly a viable option open to them at this point. Even with Jun lending his full support to her, Shinku wasn't confident of her chances against the seventh doll.

Nevertheless she had to try.

"So now what?" Suiseiseki finally asked. Shinku bowed her head slightly, her mind made up.

"Tomorrow I intend to enter the N-Field and challenge Kirakishou for the key."

This drew startled expressions from both Gardener twins, who hadn't expected anything of the sort from Shinku, especially given what they knew of her. Souseiseki frowned at her.

"Are you serious, Shinku?"

"I am."

"That doesn't sound like you at all."

"She's right," Suiseiseki added, struggling to understand Shinku's bizarre declaration, "I so thought you were through with fighting, Shinku."

Father's words played through her mind, over and over. The words he'd spoken to her last year after he had brought her back. He still wanted her to strive to become Alice. And then his younger self, who had told her that he would choose her above the others to be Alice. His journal as well, stating that he couldn't help feeling strongly about her. No, she had to do this. She couldn't turn her back on him, couldn't let him down. Not when there was now a way for her to become Alice without having to battle all of her sisters.

At most she would have to defeat Kirakishou. She could bring herself to do that much, at least. And if she succeeded and became Alice, Kirakishou could be revived. If Shinku lacked the ability to do it herself as Alice, then surely Jun or Father could.

"This is so ridiculous!" Suiseiseki hopped down from her chair, marched over to the Box and hefted it. "There's just no need for any of us to fight. I say we give that crazy Kirakishou what she wants and let _her _become Alice. I so don't care if it's not me! Let her win, let her be the one! That way none of us has to get hurt again."

"_No_."

It was just one word, and she said it in a low voice. Nevertheless that one word stopped Suiseiseki in her tracks. She lowered the Box and blinked at Shinku as if her sister had just screamed at the top of her voice. Stunned, the twins stared at Shinku. The fifth doll's stern gaze was almost frightening.

"No," she repeated, "I will not ask either of you to come with me tomorrow, yet I will not surrender the Box to Kirakishou. I shall fight her alone for the right to become Alice. If she defeats me then so be it, yet I will not simply stand aside."

Suiseiseki gaped at her, flummoxed by her attitude. "I so don't get that! Shinku, what's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

"Yes," Souseiseki weighed in, "You really want to become Alice that badly?"

Shinku averted her gaze from them both. "I do," she said flatly. Souseiseki sighed.

"I see. Then that means you've made your choice. Have you informed Jun?"

Shinku's eyes widened with shock. Her head spun sharply as she fixed her intense gaze upon Souseiseki. "What do you mean?" she demanded. The Gardener met her gaze with a deadpan look of her own, her voice soft and controlled as it often was.

"Before, you confided in me that you were torn between your duty as Rozen Maiden and your feelings for Jun. If you have decided to become Alice, I can only assume that means you have made your decision."

Shinku didn't reply. She couldn't. Souseiseki had brought up an uncomfortable truth that she had been outright avoiding dealing with herself. She was right though. If she had truly made up her mind to become Alice and be with Father, then did that not also mean she was letting go of her feelings for Jun? The very thought made her squirm uneasily. This was an issue she had not yet resolved, one she didn't know _how _to resolve.

She did have to decide, and whatever choice she made would mean breaking someone's heart. She knew Jun loved her dearly, yet she could not deny how strongly Father felt for her either. Distressed by the dilemma, Shinku grimaced and pressed her hands to the sides of her head.

"Shinku?" Suiseiseki spoke tentatively, concerned by her behaviour and distraught expression. Heart aching, Shinku let out a whimper and slid off the couch, before striding out of the living room without another word. Suiseiseki moved to go after her, but was stopped by her twin, who put a hand on her arm and shook her head.

She knew what Shinku was going through, and did not envy her the pain she must be feeling. For now though, there was nothing either of them could do.

* * *

How could she have been so blind? It had seemed to simple before. Father treasured her, wanted her to become the perfect girl, and at last she had the means to do so without hurting her sisters. A clear path, at long last. Simple.

Except for Jun. Guilt stabbed at her for not even thinking of him. She'd been pushing him from her mind without even realising it, because a part of her knew that if she thought about him for any length of time she would be right back where she started, torn between the two.

Jun and Rozen.

If she did become Alice, then surely that would mean parting from Jun? And if she did not, then surely Father would be heartbroken? He wanted her to be Alice. Wanted her to be his. How could she refuse him? He'd made her after all. She wouldn't exist were it not for him. Any of her sisters would be delirious with envy if they were as favoured by Father as she were. Could she really throw that away for the sake of Jun?

But Jun ... words could not begin to describe the regard he had for her, the strength and depth of his feelings towards her. He was prepared to give up human love for the sake of spending his entire life serving and protecting her. And he truly meant it as well, he really would. That was so fantastically rare that turning her back on such a person would be like stepping on a genuine blue rose. Such a cruel thing the mere notion galled her.

Where was her third option? Jun had always insisted that when faced with a choice you couldn't bring yourself to make, there would always be an alternative eluding you. You just had to look for it. For the life of her Shinku couldn't find it in the jumbled mess that was her feelings. She was almost tempted to simply run away and let herself wind down, to sleep and let the weight of her feelings fade away. Just when she could take it no more, a distraction presented itself to take her mind off the problem.

Meimei. Suigintou's artificial spirit.

"Meimei?" Shinku exclaimed, startled by the tiny wisp of violet light that sailed through the air towards her. It stopped before her and pulsed several times, telling her to follow it. Overcome with curiosity, she did so, and soon found herself standing before the big mirror. Meimei sank into the reflective surface, which immediately glowed with the light of the N-Field.

Did Suigintou want to see her? But if so, why send Meimei to bring her? Since the ill will between them had defused lately, Suigintou had shown no qualms about showing up at Shinku's doorstep. Or breaking through Jun's bedroom window in order to annoy him. If it was her, what did she want?

She could stand there all day asking silly questions, or she could follow Meimei and find out. Since the latter seemed the more prudent and logical course, Shinku hurled herself into the N-Field.

* * *

It was Suigintou's Field, true enough, but with two significant details. The first was that it was snowing heavily, the streets and rooftops covered with a thick carpet of soft white snowflakes. The work of that trickster rabbit, Laplace. Shinku hoped he had not lured her here, for she had no desire to see the obtuse demon right now. Or ever, for that matter.

The second was a bit more complex. There were countless N-Fields in addition to the one each Rozen Maiden possessed. A doll's Field was like a person's dream world - it reflected what lied deep within their heart. For centuries, Suigintou's field had been a dark, dreary and ruined reflection of their hometown of Lebensbaum. As Shinku had once remarked, it showed poor taste, and illustrated well the desolate coldness inside Suigintou.

Now though ... Shinku was stunned beyond words. For the first time since she'd set foot inside Suigintou's world, it had changed. Completely transformed might be a better description. No longer ruined, the streets and buildings were intact and brightly lit. It was like a vibrant, living town. Beautiful even, like a Christmas picture postcard, especially with all the snow. Where once there had been a dead husk of a tree, now there stood a healthy living thing that proudly displayed it's leaves in defiance of the heavy snowfall. Where before rubble cluttered the streets and grime coated the buildings, now all was clear and clean.

It was breathtaking, all the more so because Shinku understood how significant the change was. A doll's Field was a reflection of the doll. Looking at it was like looking at the doll's heart and soul. That Suigintou's world should be so changed could only mean that _she _had changed, and for the better if the changes were anything to go by.

Gaping in awe at her surroundings, Shinku retained enough presence of mind to follow Meimei deeper into the Field. After a few minutes of crunching through the snow, Meimei led Shinku to a square containing a fountain. Like everything else it was restored to it's former glory, no longer a dried out derelict feature. Fresh water gushed from it, and standing before it was Suigintou.

Holding Father's journal.

Meimei buzzed around the darkly dressed doll, drawing her attention to the fact that Shinku was present. Shinku stopped in her tracks as her elder sister gently closed the journal and turned to regard her.

"Hello Shinku," she said. Shinku was unable to gauge anything from her tone of voice. Her expression was inscrutable as well.

"Suigintou," Shinku began, her gaze flicking towards the journal in her hands, "Where did you get that?"

Suigintou glanced down at the book she held and stroked the cover. "I stole it from Jun's room," she admitted casually, "You might have told me you had it, Shinku. Though, having read it now I think I can see why you didn't." She met Shinku's worried gaze and smirked. "'_Of all the Rozen Maidens, Shinku has her eyes. When I look into Shinku's eyes, I see Alice staring back at me_'," Suigintou recited, causing Shinku's heart to flutter with alarm, "'_A father should never favour one child over another, but I cannot help myself._'"

Suigintou strolled over to Shinku and held the journal out towards her, tilting her head slightly and smiling as she did so.

"Oh Shinku ..."

Shinku took the offered journal and watched as her sister turned and walked back to the fountain. She felt a painful lump in her throat, and wondered if Suigintou might decide to fight her once more. Given the way she felt about Father and her feelings of betrayal towards Shinku, Shinku was astonished that Suigintou was not snarling with rage right now.

"Suigintou ... are you angry?" Shinku asked, testing the waters. Still with her back to her, Suigintou reached up and cupped her own face with her hands, giving a worrying chuckle.

"I'm not. Isn't that funny? I thought I would be, but ... I just don't seem to care anymore."

Shinku clutched the journal tight, her gaze downcast, her eyes brimming with guilt. Suigintou had always felt inferior. Rozen had left her unfinished, incomplete and without a Rosa Mystica initially. When Shinku had learned that ... it still pained her to think back on the hurtful things she'd said and done. Generations of bitter animosity had followed between them. It seemed inevitable now that the mended bridges they'd worked at recently would burn.

"I am sorry," said Shinku. Suigintou lowered her hands and turned slightly to regard her.

"Why? You have nothing to be sorry for, Shinku." She turned away again and gazed upwards at the falling snowflakes. "Tell me Shinku ... just before Father left us to return to his own time, what did he whisper to you? I'm curious."

Shinku winced. "Suigintou, please ..."

Suigintou laughed and whirled around to face Shinku directly now. "Oh Shinku, you're trying to spare my feelings. How sweet of you. There's really no need, I assure you. Please tell me. I promise not to bite you, regardless of what he said."

Shinku couldn't bring herself to look at Suigintou. She told her what the young Rozen had whispered to her back at Lebensbaum. The first Rozen Maiden did not seem altogether surprised.

"Well isn't that nice. You're clearly Father's favourite," she said. Astonishingly enough there was no bitterness or spite in her voice as she spoke. If anything she sounded faintly amused by it all, which really made little sense. Shinku finally lifted her gaze to regard Suigintou, curious about her strange behaviour. Did it have something to do with the changes to her Field? What had happened to her?

Suigintou sauntered over to Shinku and reached out to brush her cheek with her finger, still smiling vaguely. She then leaned close and whispered into her ear.

"Who can blame him ..."

Her eyes widened as Suigintou pulled back, giggling to herself. Shinku remained utterly baffled by the lack of fury and loathing she was displaying. It wasn't as if she _wanted _Suigintou to attack her in a fit of jealous rage, but it most certainly was what she would expect of her. Either she had completely changed or was merely toying with her, and would turn sour any moment now.

Suigintou turned and strode off towards a brightly lit building, pausing to glance back at Shinku and beckon for her to follow. Her emotions in confused turmoil, Shinku trooped after he big sister, somewhat curious. She followed Suigintou into the building and her jaw fell at the spectacle within.

It was a ballroom. A lavish, warmly lit, polished marble and gold ballroom. Extravagant, luxurious, immaculately clean and simply beautiful to behold. It was filled with richly dressed dolls, all female, and all waltzing across the ballroom floor, oblivious to Shinku's entrance. As she gaped about at the sight of it all, she saw Suigintou standing in the middle of the room, hand extended towards Shinku in invitation.

"Care to dance?"

Shinku became aware of music playing. Chopin. Grande Valse Brilliante. The perfect music for a ballroom dance. She absent mindedly handed the journal she was still holding to a doll standing beside her with an offered silver tray, before joining her sister on the floor.

"Suigintou, I must confess I am perplexed."

Suigintou sniggered and took Shinku's hand. "I know, I can see it in your face. Such a pretty face, Shinku, you do it an injustice gaping at me so. Would it trouble you to give me a simple smile?"

Shinku smiled a little uncertainly as they both began waltzing to the piano music filling the hall. The other dolls smoothly made way for them without breaking their stride, though Shinku's attention was fixed firmly upon Suigintou as she struggled to understand all of this. She felt somewhat wary and uneasy, unsure if all of this were some kind of elaborate game or trap. Yet, as she danced to the music and gazed at her sister's warm smile, her suspicions began to slowly melt away. She genuinely sensed no deception or simmering rage, indeed Suigintou's good nature felt entirely honest. Only her own expectations made it difficult to accept.

The music changed to a slower melody, Suigintou drawing closer to Shinku as they moved to the more sedate tune. For a long time neither of them said anything, instead enjoying the moment, all of their past differences and arguments lost to the music and the waltz. Finally Suigintou caught Shinku's eye and smirked mischievously at her. Shinku couldn't help but smirk back at her.

"Why are you doing this, Suigintou?"

"What's the matter, aren't you enjoying yourself?" Suigintou teased.

"I am."

"Good, that makes two of us," Suigintou winked at her. Shinku laughed lightly, pleasantly startled. The weight of indecision that had so recently tormented her was gone and she felt ... brighter somehow. Still smiling, Suigintou stopped dancing and held Shinku at arms length, regarding her fondly it seemed.

"What is it?" Shinku asked. Suigintou opened her mouth to respond but hesitated. Then she pulled Shinku towards her, leaned close and kissed her. Shinku went rigid with shock, utterly thrown by this unexpected act. She didn't fight it, as it took her so off guard that resisting didn't even occur to her. What did occur to her was the feeling Suigintou put into it. The kiss felt tender, yet somewhat ... sad. As if she fully expected it to be the only one she would ever have and, knowing that, she was trying to treasure it despite that knowledge. When she at last stopped (and it seemed to last a very long time, although that may have been somewhat subjective), Suigintou pulled back and cupped a hand to the side of her own face, blushing faintly.

Shinku stared at her, completely at a loss as to how to react. She wasn't exactly sure what had just happened. It took a bit of mental prodding before she could accept the reality of what Suigintou had just done, and once she did a single thought dominated her mind.

What was _that?_

"Sui ... gintou?"

Suigintou giggled in an almost embarrassed fashion. "Do you know how long I've wanted to do that?"

"No."

" ... I could tell you exactly, down to the number of seconds. I think 'a very long time' will suffice, though."

Shinku pulled away from her sister and cast about, uncertainty screaming from every inch of her. She floundered for something to say but her normally sharp intellect continued to let her down by giving her nothing. Suigintou reached out and took Shinku's hand, enveloping it in her own as she smiled hesitantly.

"Shinku ... for the longest time I hated you. But it wasn't always so. We used to be close. So close. And I think that ... the strength of my hatred was matched only by the strength of the love I felt for you."

"Suigintou ..." Shinku said her name, because that was all she could think to say. Anything more than that escaped her at the present.

Her hands tightened around Shinku's as she went on, determined to say her piece. "I don't hate you anymore, Shinku," she said effusively, "Not anymore. I'm through hating you. I'm through fighting you. Back home in Lebensbaum, you asked me what I wanted. Do you remember?"

"I remember."

"What I wanted to say then was ... I want to be with you, Shinku. I want that more than anything."

"Suigintou ..." Shinku looked away, feeling ... feeling _something_, what, she couldn't say.

"Shinku, let's leave. Together."

Shinku stared at her once more, shocked by her words. "What do you mean?"

"I mean let's run away together. Leave everything behind and just go."

"Where?"

"Anywhere. Everywhere. Just as long as we're together. Shinku, the Rozen Maidens are nearing an end. You must feel that too. Alice is coming, and I'm afraid that when she does you and I will never see each other again. I can't stand that Shinku."

Shinku was dumbfounded. Of all the things she'd been considering to explain Suigintou's strange behaviour, this certainly had not been one of them. She couldn't deny a certain thrill at hearing Suigintou confess such feelings for her, feelings that Shinku shamefully shared. She loved Suigintou as well, though she had long since given up hope of Suigintou ever reciprocating after all that had passed between them.

And then it occurred to her. This was it. Door number three. She wanted an alternative to choosing between Jun and Rozen. Here it was. Choose neither and be with Suigintou instead. Well. She certainly hadn't expected _that_. But there it was. Just as she'd felt lost and confused and torn, her big sister had come along and tugged her in a new direction.

Suigintou sighed and released Shinku's hand, her lavender eyes downcast, shoulders slumped. She took a step back. Shinku extended a hand towards her.

"Suigintou-"

"No, Shinku, it's ... it's fine." Suigintou looked up at her and flashed her a soft smile, her cheeks flushed. "To be honest, I never really expected you to say yes. I had to ask though, and I had to let you know how I really felt, before the end. I understand, and I don't hold it against you. Farewell, Shinku."

Shinku watched her sister turn and walk away, heels clicking on the polished marble floor of the ballroom, the other dancers parting to allow her through. She stopped and, hesitating for a moment, turned back.

"Shinku, just out of curiosity ... who _are_ you going to choose? Father, or your Medium?"

Shinku stared at her. And stared. Music played, dolls danced, and still she said nothing. She felt oddly still inside. Calm. Empty. Clear.

"You."

Suigintou blinked. "What?"

Shinku ran at her. What followed could _only_ be described as a glomp. She barrelled into Suigintou and wrapped her arms around her sister, tears streaming down her cheeks. Suigintou was as dumbfounded as Shinku had been when she had kissed her. She gawked at the blond doll embracing her, eyes wide.

"I choose you, Suigintou," Shinku answered, squeezing her, "Let us forget Alice and Pandora. I wish to be together, with you."

Suigintou's astonished expression gave way to one of bemused joy. She wrapped her arms around her little sister and stroked her hair. Around them, dancers twirled and spun, music filled the air and black feathers rained down from above.


	52. EP12: White Knight

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE TWELVE

White Knight

* * *

Shinku and Suigintou sailed through the inky blackness of the N-Field hand in hand, doors shooting past them on all sides. If Shinku had an actual heart, she felt certain it would be racing at this point. She was dizzy with feelings she couldn't even begin to describe. Was she really going to do this? Just ... run away together with Suigintou and not look back?

Could she?

It was so very tempting. To just flee from all her responsibilities, from the life she had built. No more pressure, no more expectations. Not having to strive to please anyone but herself. Such a selfish choice, yet an enticing one as well. She flinched at the thought of Jun and Father, though. What would they think of her, if they saw her now? Saw what she was doing? The last time she had run away from Jun he had been devastated. He'd eventually tracked her down on Valentine's Day of all days and professed his love for her.

And Father. She was letting him down. He would be so disappointed in her. Out of seven dolls she was his first choice to be Alice. And here she was turning her back on him.

Shinku squeezed Suigintou's hand, prompting her sister to glance sideways at her. Suigintou could see the pain etched in her features and swiftly brought them both to a stop, rounding on Shinku with evident concern.

"What's wrong?"

Shinku gazed into her eyes, trying to draw strength from them, some kind of assurance that this wasn't a mistake. But that was silly. Of course it was a mistake. A selfish mistake. Yet she could not deny just how strongly she wanted to lose her burdens and curl up in her sister's arms. Why did things have to be so complicated?

"Shinku ..." Suigintou gently laid her hand against Shinku's face, her expression growing soft. "It's not too late to change your mind. You can still go back. I'll understand if you do."

Shinku reached up and wrapped her fingers around Suigintou's hand, taking comfort from the warmth she felt. She smiled. "I have made my choice, Suigintou, and I will not go back on it. I said I wanted to be with you and I meant that with all my heart."

Suigintou searched her expression intently, striving to read every subtle nuance and signal she could to understand how Shinku was feeling. It wasn't difficult to see and reason what was making her little sister so pained. As soon as she did, Suigintou inwardly cursed herself for what she was about to do.

"Oh Shinku, you and I are such fools," she said. She leaned close and kissed Shinku once more, because she could, and because she might not get another chance now. It was such a wonderful feeling. If only they hadn't been at odds for so long. If only things had happened differently. They could have been so very happy together.

If only.

Suigintou took Shinku's hand and pulled her along through the darkness of the N-Field.

Back the way they had come.

"Suigintou!" Shinku cried out, startled by this. "What ... ?"

"We're going back," Suigintou replied firmly, doorways flitting past them at dizzying speeds. Overcoming her initial surprise, Shinku added to her own forward momentum so that she was level with Suigintou once more.

"But why? I meant what I said, Suigintou - I would leave it all behind to be with you."

Suigintou closed her eyes briefly, smiling to herself at Shinku's words. Inside, she was mentally kicking herself in a very severe fashion. "I know Shinku, and that means more to me than you can imagine." She opened her eyes and glanced across at the blond doll, drinking in the sight of Shinku with open and earnest admiration. "But you're a good person at heart, and choosing this course is eating you up inside. It's not fair of me to ask this of you."

The two dolls drew to a stop before a collection of doorways, Shinku's normally composed features wracked with guilt. She clutched her sister's hand tight and gave her a sincerely apologetic look.

"I am sorry, Suigintou."

"Don't be," Suigintou shook her head, dismissing the apology out of hand, "Just promise me something Shinku."

"Anything."

Suigintou squeezed her hands. "Promise me that no matter what happens, we won't fight each other anymore. We're not just sisters, we're friends, and I don't ever want to fight you again."

Feeling as if an enormous weight had been lifted from her heart, Shinku smiled warmly at Suigintou and bobbed her head in assent. "I give you my solemn word, Suigintou."

"SHINKU!"

Both dolls turned their heads in time to see Hinaichigo and Kanaria barrelling towards them at breakneck speed. They screeched to a halt, visibly agitated and on edge. Indeed they seemed almost on the verge of tears, and both began babbling incoherently the second they came to a stop.

"Hinaichigo, Kanaria!" Shinku scolded, "Calm yourselves! Now, take a breath and explain. What has transpired?"

They both exchanged distraught looks, Kanaria fidgeting non-stop and Hinaichigo quivering. They seemed to reach an agreement and Hina went first, her bright green eyes wide with fear.

"It's Tomoe! Tomoe was studying in her room and I was playing, and there was a bright light and Tomoe screamed and then she was gone! Tomoe is gone Shinku! Ohhhh!" Hinaichigo wailed and started to sob. Kanaria chimed in next.

"Yeah, and Micchan is gone too! One second she was on the phone and the next she was just gone! Look!" She extended her hand and uncurled it, revealing several white rose petals. "These were on the ground where she'd been standing, y'know?"

Suigintou groaned. "Kirakishou. She must have taken them."

"W-what? You mean the seventh doll snatched Micchan?" Kanaria asked, alarmed at the prospect. "What do we do?"

"There are countless holes in this world, and many doors that hide them," said a sinister and all-too familiar voice, "Beware of doors that you cannot see, for they are cunningly hidden ..."

Laplace emerged from behind one of the doors littering the darkness, nose twitching as he spoke. His eerie red eyes fixed upon the dolls, whilst Shinku glared back at him. A visit from a trickster rabbit was the last thing they needed right now.

"As usual your presence is stifling," Shinku snapped, whilst Hinaichigo and Kanaria darted behind her and Suigintou, peering out from behind them. "What do you want?"

Laplace gave a theatrical bow that was typical of him. "If you find my presence distasteful, think of it this way; you've dozed off and what you see before you is but a dream."

"So you have said before," Shinku said, growing ever more irritated by his nonsensical remarks, "If you have nothing useful to add then leave us be, we are a bit busy at the moment."

Laplace stood upright and extended a gloved hand. A glowing white light materialised and hovered around him. They recognised it as Rosary - Kirakishou's artificial spirit. That couldn't be a good sign. A moment later the seventh doll's taunting voice echoed from the spirit.

_"Fair is foul and foul is fair,"_ it said, before giggling, _"Come and see me, if you dare ..."_

Suigintou scoffed. "Insolent as ever, I see."

"Gather your kin, it is time for the Alice Game to begin," said Laplace, making Rosary vanish with a simple gesture. "The light of truth shall at last be revealed."

Shinku's hands tightened into fists at her sides, her features taut. They were supposed to be avoiding the Alice Game. That was the whole reason they'd sought out Pandora's Box in the first place. If Kirakishou was invoking the Game, it could only mean she'd given up on the peaceful alternative.

"And what if we do not wish to play?" she challenged the demonic rabbit. Laplace clasped his hands behind his back and smirked at her, or whatever the rabbit equivalent was.

"The wheels of fate are in motion, it is too late for the cogs to protest. Play the game or forfeit the lives of those you hold dear," he said ominously. Shinku balked suddenly, as it occurred to her that if Kirakishou truly wanted to play the Alice Game, the best way for her to force her sisters to fight would be to do just what she was doing - abduct the people they cared about and hold them hostage. She had already taken Tomoe and Micchan, the two humans that Hinaichigo and Kanaria cared most about. What if she didn't stop there? Who else might she kidnap?

Shinku gasped as the realisation hit her.

"Jun!"

* * *

Jun Sakurada opened his eyes. It took a moment for his vision to swim into focus, and a moment more for his memory to do the same. He struggled to piece together what had happened to cause him to black out. It was awfully vague. The last thing he remembered he'd been lying on his bed, studying and trying with some difficulty to ignore the fact that he was wearing an extremely cute schoolgirl uniform. Ideas for new outfits and fashion designs kept parading around his head, distracting him from his studies. That, and a desire to giggle at himself in front of a mirror.

And then ... oh, that was it. A single white rose petal had landed on the pages of his textbook. He'd taken a moment to stare at it and wonder what the heck it was doing there, and then ...

He woke up here. Wherever here was. Where was he, exactly? It was quite comfortable, wherever it was. It actually felt like he was lying in bed still. The only thing was ... the ceiling was pink. As girly as Jun could be at times, he drew the line at having a pink bedroom.

He sat up.

"Oh man, I feel sick." Jun clutched a hand to his head as if that might help stop the waves of nausea. After a few seconds the sickness subsided and he began to feel a little better. That was when he noticed that he was wearing glasses again. Opening his eyes and peering down at himself, Jun was startled to see that he was back to his old self. Fourteen years old and wearing trousers and a t-shirt. Huh. Well that was ... good, right?

So where was he anyway? He looked around and felt immediately lost. He was in the most peculiar bedroom he'd ever laid eyes on. It looked as if the room were made from some kind of pinkish hued crystal, polished to a glossy finish. He was lying on a large bed, a soft white light streaming in through the French doors to his left. As Jun got to his feet and peered outside, his breath caught in his throat.

White as far as the eye could see. It was snowing outside, blanketing everything in a uniform milky white. He stared wide-eyed at the sight.

"How long was I out, exactly?" he wondered aloud. Last he remembered it was _March_. A little early for snow, especially this much. There were no buildings visible outside that he could see either, just an endless white tundra. Where the hell was he? He turned and regarded the room once more, frowning shrewdly.

"N-Field," he said eventually, "Gotta be. Great."

"You're awake!" exclaimed Kirakishou, right next to Jun's ear. He jumped with fright and spun around to see the seventh doll floating beside him. As Jun backed away from the creepy doll, she drifted closer, giggling incessantly.

"What the heck do you want?" Jun demanded. He cried out as he bumped into something and fell over, landing back on the bed he'd awoken on. The next thing he new Kirakishou was straddling him and grinning at him with a deeply disconcerting look upon her face.

"Want? I want you, of course," she said. Jun blushed at both her words and the situation he was in. Why did things like this keep happening to him?

"Oh, err ... gee, I'm flattered, really, but I don't think it'd work out. I'm fourteen, you're ... probably old enough to be my great-great-great-great-great-"

"Grandmother?"

"... yeah," he finished lamely. Kirakishou sniggered and pushed his glasses up slightly with the tip of her finger.

"Now Jun-kun, is that any way to thank the person who restored you to normal?"

"That was you?"

"Mm-hmm." She nodded. Jun swallowed.

"Thanks. I don't suppose there's any chance you'd just let me leave, is there?" he asked tentatively. It was worth a shot. Kirakishou tilted her head and gave him a bemused smile.

"Leave? But Jun-kun, you only just arrived. And I'm _so_ lonely. Aren't you lonely too, Jun-kun?"

Jun swallowed again. Was it just his imagination, or was he being seduced by a doll? If so, then ... why did it have to be the crazy psychotic one?

"Who me?" He shook his head. "Nope. In fact I'm so _not_ lonely I could use some peace and quiet." He wondered what would happen if he tried to shove her away and run for it. Then he remembered how easily she had subdued him on stage at the school play. He wouldn't get five feet, and he'd probably just annoy her in the process. Kirakishou leaned closer to him and lowered her voice to a soft purr.

"Such a shame Father did not make us anatomically correct ... if we were, then we'd be able to have _so_ much fun together, Jun-kun ..."

Jun whimpered. "Don't suppose you have any cotton wool? It's just that if you're going to keep this up I think I'm going to wind up with a nosebleed."

Kirakishou kissed him. It was technically his second actual kiss. His first had been with an unconscious Tomoe, and in that case _he_ had kissed _her_. So really, this was the first time he had _been_ kissed by someone. It was so surprising that Jun actually forgot himself for a long moment and did nothing about it. At some point he wondered what Shinku was doing, and what she would say if she saw this. She'd probably slap him.

_I wish I was kissing Shinku._

"Stop that!" Jun finally grabbed the doll and thrust her away from himself. "Just ... stop! I can't ... not with you."

"Mmmm," the seventh doll moaned dreamily, the expression upon her face borderline obscene. Jun grimaced, unable to believe what had just happened. Maybe Suiseiseki was right, maybe he _did_ have a doll fetish. The rose protruding from Kirakishou's eye socket writhed in a disturbing fashion as the doll regarded him. "Don't feel so guilty," she said sweetly, "Shinku is doing the same thing as we speak."

"What?" Jun felt a jolt of pain. Kirakishou grinned.

"Her and our big sis Suigintou are locking lips even now. I would rather be kissing Suigintou myself, just as you would rather be kissing Shinku. I suppose we are both disappointed." She raised a hand to her mouth and giggled to herself. "Though I quite enjoyed the experience actually ..."

Shinku and ... Suigintou? What? Just ... what? She was lying. She _was_ lying, right? Jun thought about it seriously.

... okay, she might not be lying. He knew Suigintou felt more than mere sisterly love for Shinku, and he wouldn't put it past her to lay one on Shinku. As Rozen had once said to him, there was a thin line between love and hate, and just lately Suigintou had been spending a lot of time on the opposite side of the line than she usually did.

Kirakishou sighed. "That's enough fun for now," she lamented, "Time for business." She clapped her hands together abruptly, and the next thing Jun knew he was falling. He lost his grip on Kirakishou and hit the ground a split second later.

"Ow!"

Jun sat up, wincing as much from the annoyance of it than any actual pain. As he cast a look around he saw that he was no longer in the pink bedroom. He now occupied some kind of eerie dark cavern, though still fashioned from pinkish tinted crystal. All about him was some manner of spider web, made from gleaming crystalline filaments. It was downright creepy. That wasn't nearly as unsettling as what he saw trapped within the crystal web.

"Tomoe!" Jun hurried towards his friend, who hung suspended above the ground in a cocoon of crystal threads. Her arms were folded across her chest and her eyes were shut, as if she were asleep. He tried to free her but she was just out of his reach. As he extended his hand in vain, he caught a glimpse of another figure. It was Micchan. And there, a short distance away was Suigintou's Medium, Megu. And next to her the Shibisakis.

Trapped. They were all wrapped and bound in Kirakishou's crystal web, seemingly lifeless. It didn't take a genius to work out the reason they were all here. Tomoe, Micchan, Megu, Mr and Mrs Shibisaki ... and of course himself. She had gathered up all of the humans her sisters cared for. They were hostages. Or bait.

"They are unharmed ... for now," said Kirakishou. Jun rounded on her, furious that she would stoop so low.

"Let them go!" he demanded. She seemed to consider it for a moment, before fixing him with her one eye whilst smiling in a vaguely demented fashion.

"Let's not."

"If this is about Pandora's Box-" Jun began. He hit a nerve, prompting Kirakishou's expression to twist and contort.

"Shut up!" she snapped, enraged. She took a calming breath before continuing. "I am through chasing that fairytale. No more dreams. My sisters will come to save you and the others. When they do I will rip them all limb from limb and reap their Rosa Mysticas."

Jun glanced about at the trapped people suspended in the web, struggling to think of some way he could help them. For the life of him he couldn't think of a thing to do. Frustrated, he turned back to Kirakishou and desperately tried to reason with her.

"Stop this," he pleaded, "Your father doesn't want you to fight each other. There's another way, it doesn't have to be like this."

The seventh doll sneered at him and floated down onto the ground, landing lightly. "Oh, but it does. And what's more, you are going to assist me. Father showed me that you would."

Jun took a wary step back from her, wondering what she meant by that and not liking the implications one bit. "Forget it, there's no way I'll help _you_."

She chortled and advanced towards him. "You say that as if you have a choice in the matter." As she drew near to Jun, she raised her arm towards him and he saw a flash of white light. A tiny ring materialised upon one of her fingers, drawing his full attention.

"Now," said Kirakishou with evident relish, "swear upon this rose ring ..."


	53. EP12: Duet

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE TWELVE

Duet

* * *

They were gone. All of them. Tomoe. Micchan. Megu. The Shibisakis. Even Jun. Just as they had feared, Kirakishou had swooped in and snatched them out from under their collective noses. The fact that she'd been able to even pull such a thing off was impressive in itself. The dolls all gathered in the living room of the Sakurada house and sat in gloomy silence, knowing what was to come.

The Alice Game.

After the last Alice Game with Barasuishou a year ago, they'd all been dreading this. Rozen's words to Shinku though, and the subsequent discovery of Pandora's Box had given them all hope that it would never come to this again. Even Kirakishou herself had been determined to avoid it, opting instead to pursue the same alternative that they all sought.

Not anymore, obviously. Having failed to get her hands on the Box, the seventh doll had evidently abandoned that plan in favour of restarting the Game. It was clear she intended to lure them all to her N-Field and do battle with them. Walking away was not really an option, unless they wanted to throw away the lives of those they had come to care for.

"How tough can she be?" Kanaria spoke up at last, breaking the fragile silence, "I mean she's just one doll, y'know? If we all work together I'm sure we can take her down." She looked from one sister to the other, as if searching for reassurance. "Right?"

Suigintou shook her head slowly. "I'm not so sure. Father made her to be the strongest one of us. So strong he trusted her alone to guard the key. So strong that he put her to sleep, only waking her when it seemed the Alice Game was almost over."

Kanaria wilted at the complete lack of comfort Suigintou's words offered. She and Hinaichigo both clung to each other and whimpered, afraid of what was to come. Meanwhile Suiseiseki ground her teeth together and kicked at one of the table legs.

"That Kirakishou so pisses me off! Honestly, we should have done something about her the first time she showed that creepy face of hers."

"Nevertheless, here we are," said Shinku reasonably, "If we want to save our Mediums, our friends, then there is but one course of action open to us. We must face her in the Alice Game." She sat on the couch next to Suigintou, holding her big sister's hand in her lap. If the other dolls weren't so worried about the current situation they might have commented about that. Sitting alone on one of the chairs, Souseiseki seemed lost in thought, until she glanced up at Shinku's words.

"Maybe not," she said carefully. All eyes turned on her, inviting her to elaborate. She did, narrowing her gaze in an almost devious fashion. "We may not have to beat Kirakishou ... supposedly Pandora's artificial spirit has the power to vanquish any foe, and may even be the key to creating Alice without using all our Rosa Mysticas ..."

Suigintou blinked with surprise as she realised what her sister was getting at. "If we can just get the key from her-"

"Then one of us could open the Box whilst the rest of us keep her occupied," Souseiseki nodded, "Surely then either Pandora or Hope will be able to bring a stop to the Alice Game. There'd be no need for us to fight Kirakishou then."

Shinku seemed dubious. "That will not be easy," she ventured, "If we bring Pandora's Box with us to the N-Field, then this plan might work against us. She would need only open the Box herself-"

"Wait a second," Suiseiseki waved her hands to interrupt, her face screwed up from the effort of trying to make sense of something, "Do we even know for sure what will happen when _anyone _opens that damn thing? I mean just whose side would this Pandora doll be on? For all we know we could wake her up only to find ourselves up against someone _worse _than Kirakishou." She crossed her arms and huffed in seeming annoyance. "The way everyone talks about that Box, you'd think Pandora really was some kind of wish granting genie or something, but what if we stick our necks out to wake her up and she just yawns at us all and asks for some tea? Then what?"

There was silence in response to this, as none of them had even considered the possibility. They'd all been so sure Pandora would be able to somehow magically sort everything out it hadn't occurred to them to even think of her as a living doll, with a personality and desires of her own. In that case, what _would _happen? What would Pandora do if they opened her case and woke her up? Would she be willing to put a stop to the fighting, or might she become their worst enemy? An unsettling possibility.

"Father knew Pandora," Souseiseki pointed out after some consideration, "He spoke of her during his time here. And he came from the past for the sole reason of helping us to find her." She bowed her head and sighed. "We have to trust that this is what Father wants. I believe that it is our only option short of playing the Alice Game," she raised her gaze and fixed it upon her sisters, the slightest suggestion of a smile playing across her normally reserved face. "I for one would rather take my chances with Pandora than fight any of you again."

Coming from the doll who just last year had been prepared to strike them down for the sake of becoming Alice, her words carried considerable weight. If _Souseiseki_ would sooner take the risk than fight, how could they argue?

"Then it is settled," Shinku produced her pocket watch, taking note of the time before tucking it away once more, "Hinaichigo?"

"Unyuu?" Hina blinked with curiosity at Shinku.

"You and Kanaria will wait within your N-Field with Pandora's Box. The rest of us shall confront our sister in her Field. As soon as one of us is able to steal the key from her, that person shall race to Hina's Field and open the Box, whilst the others keep Kirakishou occupied."

The assembled dolls each voiced their assent at the plan and then got to their feet. This was it, then. The final battle. The fate of the Rozen Maidens would be decided today, and it was possible Alice might also be born at long last. Depending on how things went, it could potentially be any one of them. Win or lose, all or nothing, there wasn't long to go now.

They'd each been waiting their entire lives for this moment, and the weight of that fact bore down heavily upon them. Hinaichigo and Kanaria hugged one another tight, giving each other babbled assurances that everything was going to work out. The Gardener twins did likewise, Suiseiseki throwing her arms around her boyish sister.

"Promise me nothing will happen to you this time," she demanded, squeezing Souseiseki as if afraid of what might happen if she let go, "I so could not stand the thought of losing you a second time!"

Her twin closed her eyes and gently laid her hands upon Suiseiseki's back. "Don't worry about me, sister, I've learned my lesson. I'll be by your side until the very end."

Suigintou and Shinku stood face to face, their hands pressed together and fingers intertwined. Shinku smiled oddly at her big sister and tilted her head to one side. "So," she said, "do you regret deciding to come back now?"

Suigintou smiled back at her. "No. All I wanted was to be with you, Shinku. As long as we're together, I'll see this through come what may." She chuckled. "And besides, we have to rescue that hopeless Medium of yours, don't we? Poor Jun-kun, where would he be without you?"

"I might say the same of your Medium, Suigintou," Shinku teased, trying to ease the tension she felt, "You did promise to take care of her, did you not?"

Suigintou gave a mock look of bemusement. "I did at that, didn't I? I must be doing something wrong though, because no matter how I try I still cannot teach her to make a proper cup of tea."

Shinku giggled, her eyes glinting with genuine mirth. "In that case, when all this is over you must bring her for a visit; if I can teach a servant as vexing as Jun to make good tea, I am certain someone like Megu will prove no challenge."

Suigintou smirked and leaned towards Shinku, intending to kiss her. She stopped when Souseiseki politely cleared her throat, and as the two dolls turned their heads a little they saw that the rest of their sisters were watching them both in utter astonishment. Suiseiseki in particular seemed completely flabbergasted.

"When did _you _two become so close?" she asked, looking from one to the other, "Does the puny runt know the two of you are tasting each other's lips?"

"Suiseiseki!" her twin gave her a shocked stare. Suiseiseki glared back at her and pointed sharply at Suigintou.

"Did you know about this?"

"Do I _look_ like I knew?"

Meanwhile Hinaichigo waved her hands in the air and moaned loudly. "Hina wants kisses too!"

Kanaria elbowed her in the side. "No you don't, stupid!"

"I don't?"

Kanaria growled at her naivety. "Of course not! You only kiss someone like that when you really love them, silly!"

"Unyuu?" Hina seemed puzzled for a moment, before her face split into a wide grin. She promptly grabbed a hold of Kanaria and planted one on her. The second Rozen Maiden flailed her arms in shock at this, and when Hinaichigo pulled away she could not have looked more stunned if she'd been shot with a stun gun.

"W-what did you do _that_ for?" Kanaria yelped once she found her voice again. Hinaichigo beamed happily at her.

"You said you kiss someone like that when you love them. Hina loves Kana, so Hina kissed her. Haha!"

Kanaria facepalmed in epic fashion at her little sister's complete failure to grasp her meaning. Meanwhile Hinaichigo giggled like a child with a new toy and launched herself at Souseiseki. The Gardener doll had just enough time to give a startled cry before Hina locked lips with her. Seeing this, Suiseiseki screamed and clutched the side of her head. Observing the spectacle, both Suigintou and Shinku chuckled at the little doll's display of affection. As soon as Hinaichigo was done kissing Souseiseki she rounded on the second Gardener doll, whereupon Suiseiseki ran from her as if being chased by a hungry alligator.

"Yaagh! Stay away you! I so do not want your puny lips anywhere near mine!"

"Suiseiseki! Come back, Hina loves you too!"

Souseiseki and Kanaria stood side by side and watched Hinaichigo chase Suiseiseki around the living room. They sighed wearily and shook their heads.

"They're so hopeless ..." they both said in unison.

* * *

"Swear!"

"Like hell I'm gonna do that!"

Kirakishou's features twisted into a grimace of rage. She gestured violently, summoning a swarm of writhing white rose vines that engulfed Jun, lifting him into the air. He cried out in pain as they twisted and strangled him, then wrenched at his arms and legs as if trying to pull him apart.

"SWEAR!" Kirakishou thrust her rose ring towards him. Face contorting in anguish, fighting for breath, Jun nevertheless managed to find the strength to refuse.

"N-never!" he gasped hoarsely. Kirakishou seemed about ready to explode with anger, her entire body trembling. Then without a moments notice her entire manner changed. She laughed and flicked her hand, causing the rose vines to cease their assault and lower Jun back down onto the floor.

"My, so strong," the seventh doll observed, grinning like a lunatic. Quite aptly, Jun thought, because she _was _one. Kirakishou strode up to him as the rose vines held him gently but firmly in place, unable to move. She stopped right before his face and reached out to remove his glasses.

"They wont suit you," Jun quipped, sarcasm about the only thing he could manage right now, "Try a monocle."

"We're feeling funny today, aren't we Jun-kun?" Kirakishou tossed his glasses away and reached out to pluck something out of the air. Jun's eyes widened with horror as she leaned close, brandishing a needle-sharp shard of white crystal.

"What are you doing?" Jun demanded frantically, eyeing the shard with fear. He tried to pull away from the grinning doll but the rose vines held him firmly in place. She cupped his face with her free hand and lowered the crystal shard until it was level with his eyes.

"How about now?" she teased, "Go on Jun-kun; make me laugh."

"Stop! What are ... no! Don't!" Jun struggled desperately as the seventh doll slid the shard closer to his right eye, the glinting point of it drawing his full and undivided attention.

"Then swear. Enter a covenant with me. Become my Medium."

Jun began to sweat. "I won't," he murmured weakly, surprising himself by his refusal.

"In that case Jun, you may want to invest in an eye-patch ..."

The tip of the shard was less than an inch away from his eye now. Jun instinctively screwed his eyes shut, but it didn't help; Kirakishou simply used her free hand to prize his eyelid open.

"Hold still now," she cautioned, "You have something in your eye. Well, you're about to ..."

There was nothing he could do. The crazy psychotic doll was going to gouge his eye out with a razor sharp piece of crystal. She really was. And he was going to scream, because it would hurt more than anything he'd ever experienced in his life. His only alternative was to give in and become her Medium, but if he did that then there'd be no stopping her. She was already the strongest Rozen Maiden. With Jun's power backing her up, she'd tear through her sisters with ease.

Shinku. If he gave in, she'd kill Shinku and take her Rosa Mystica. He'd never see her again.

"Go ahead," Jun snapped, suddenly finding his fear draining away as he accepted the fate she had in store for him, "There is just no way I'll help you to fight the others."

Kirakishou regarded him curiously as she held the crystal a hairs breadth away from piercing his right eye. The rose growing from her own empty eye socket swivelled. Finally she pulled away, the shard dissolving in her grasp. She stared a moment longer at him, then summoned his glasses into her waiting grasp. Without a word she replaced them upon his face and then tapped his nose.

"Shinku and Suiseiseki chose wisely," Kirakishou admitted with a resigned sigh, "So loyal. So brave. You would do anything for the ones you care about."

Jun said nothing. He was trying not to faint. Kirakishou snapped her fingers, causing the rose vines holding him to vanish. As he slumped to the floor, she danced around him like a playful child.

"So kind. So caring. Such a sweet boy. Can't break you. Not directly. So-" She gripped Jun's hair suddenly, yanking his head up and around so that he was staring up at Tomoe, bound and suspended within the crystal web, "-I shall just have to break you indirectly. Swear upon the ring, Jun-kun, or I shall force her to be my Medium instead. Considering that she could not stand having Hinaichigo as a Medium, I think you shall find her life expectancy to be extremely short supplying _me_ with power."

Damn. "She wont give in anymore than I will."

"No? Not even when I threaten to pluck out your eyes and make her watch? She still cares for you a great deal, Jun. Can you not feel the affection she has for you, even from here? So warm ... so strong. If you were a girl she'd be madly in love with you."

Jun didn't answer, because he was trying to think of a way out, yet couldn't. He couldn't let this maniac use Tomoe's life to fight her sisters; it'd kill Tomoe for sure. Hinaichigo had very nearly drained Tomoe's life away just fighting Shinku, and Kirakishou intended to fight all six of her sisters _at the same time_. As it was Jun doubted very much even _he _would live long if he agreed to be her Medium. Tomoe didn't have a chance.

"I'll do it," Jun muttered sullenly, "Just leave Tomoe alone."

With no choice but to accede, Jun kissed the ring worn by the seventh doll. It flared with a brilliant white light, his own ring doing the same in response. Kirakishou held up her hand and gazed at the glowing ring, her expression euphoric.

"Thank you, Jun, that was all I needed." She flung her arm out and pointed to a blank stretch of floor. Jun screamed as a searing hot pain shot through his hand, blurring his vision and driving him onto his back. He didn't see the violet crystal spike that punched through the ground, not at first. Only when he prized his eyes open and squinted at it did he see, his breath catching in his throat.

The crystal was shrinking in on itself, shaping itself into something. As Jun watched, it took on a familiar form, one he knew well enough yet never expected to see again. The crystalline features sharpened into focus, until at last the figure was complete. With a final ripple of light the crystal changed texture and colour, revealing the finished result.

"What do you think, Jun-kun?" said Kirakishou, the light from their rings fading now, "Isn't she beautiful? Isn't she magnificent?"

"How ...?" said Jun weakly, lying on his front and sweating from the exhaustion of having his life sapped. The seventh doll glided gracefully over to the new figure and set down before it, gazing at it with unconcealed adoration.

"Are you ready, my love?" she asked, "Are you ready to end the Alice Game?"

Barasuishou opened her eye and smiled. She reached out and pressed her hands against Kirakishou's, entwining their fingers together. "I am," she said. They both leaned close and kissed. Jun struggled up onto his knees, unable to believe what he was seeing. Together the two dolls turned their heads to regard him, their movements so perfectly in synch it was as if they were a reflection of each other.

"I am Kirakishou."

"I am Barasuishou."

"And together-"

"We are-"

"The seventh Rozen Maiden doll ..." they finished in unison.


	54. EP12: Duellwalzer

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE TWELVE

Duellwalzer

* * *

The dolls materialised upon a snow swept bridge spanning a dizzying chasm, at the end of which towered a simply spectacular pinkish-white palace of polished crystal. It stretched up to the uniformly white sky, the highest tips of the structure protruding through a bank of low lying clouds. A bitter chill was in the air, though the air itself was quite still. There wasn't so much as a light breeze to disturb the blizzard of glittering snowflakes that drifted down upon them.

"So nice of you to come," said Kirakishou, standing little over a dozen feet away from them, clearly awaiting their arrival. She glanced from one doll to the other, taking note of the two missing Rozen Maidens. As she did so, a smirk flashed across her features, as if she'd expected as much.

"We have come to take back our friends," Shinku declared boldly, striding forwards and swishing her cane through the icy air. She stopped half a dozen feet from her youngest sister, her equally icy gaze locked upon the smirking seventh doll. Kirakishou stared back. After a moment of silence, Shinku sighed. "Must it really come to this? Must we fight?"

Kirakishou glanced about at the falling snow and held out a hand to catch several of the drifting flakes in her palm. She peered at them closely and giggled. "They say every snowflake is unique, different from all the others." She glanced up at Shinku. "Just as we are different. But Father does not want seven unique daughters. He wants only one. One named Alice." Kirakishou clenched her hand shut, crushing the snowflakes in her palm, a demented grin spreading across her face.

Shinku sighed again, heavier this time, her serene blue eyes downcast. "I see. I wish Father had not kept you apart from us. If only he had allowed you to be with your sisters, to spend time with us, perhaps ... perhaps you would not be as broken as you are."

Kirakishou scoffed at her words, lowering her arm to her side. "Broken? Is that how you see me? I am the strongest of Father's creations. I am the most worthy of becoming Alice. Father entrusted the key of Hope to me, because he wished me to become the perfect girl. You could not stand that, Shinku, so you kept Hope from me. But despite your jealousy, I shall prevail, and I shall become Alice."

"How sad," Shinku raised her gaze and directed the most pitying look at Kirakishou. Kirakishou narrowed her one eye.

"Sad?"

"You truly believe Father wishes you to become Alice, yet he told me himself that it is I he desires to become Alice, out of all the dolls."

The seventh doll's eye widened at her words, stunned. Her surprise quickly shifted to angry denial, her features contorting in an ugly fashion. "Liar. LIAR!"

"See for yourself," Shinku produced Rozen's journal and tossed it towards her. It landed in the snow at her feet and she stared down at it for a second, before casting a suspicious glance at Shinku. There was no hesitation, no nervous apprehension in Shinku's manner, only weary resignation. Kirakishou knelt down and scooped the journal up, opening it to the page Shinku had bookmarked. Her eye danced across the pages, scanning the contents. It was easy to tell when she read the relevant passage, as she let out a disbelieving gasp and sank to her knees.

All was silent. Snow continued to fall gently upon the assembled dolls. Everyone waited and watched to see her reaction. After a while Shinku spoke again.

"When Father's past self came to help us find Pandora, he gave me a parting message. He told me that if he could choose any of us to be Alice, I would be that choice."

Kirakishou said nothing, only continued to stare numbly at the pages of the journal in her hands. Finally she let it slip from her grasp onto the ground once more. She pressed a hand to her face, her fingertips gingerly touching the rose growing from her eye socket.

"Why ..." they heard her whisper, "Why, Father? When I love you so much? I ... I kept it safe, just like you asked. I went to sleep all alone for so very long. I did everything you asked of me. Why do you want her ...?" Suddenly she wrenched the rose from her eye, tearing it clean out of the socket, leaving only an empty black hole where it had been. She crushed the rose in her hands and screamed, her shrieking voice echoing throughout her world, almost deafening. The dolls clapped their hands over their ears, save for Shinku. The fifth doll crunched across the snow towards her little sister and knelt before her, laying a comforting hand upon her shaking shoulder.

"Stop this," Shinku said, her eyes filled with sympathy as Kirakishou's scream trailed off. "However Father feels, we are still sisters and we care for you. There is no need to be alone any longer. Come home with us Kirakishou. We do not have to be enemies."

Kirakishou stared at her, her mouth hanging open, a glittering tear rolling down her cheek from the one eye that she had. Her mouth closed and smiled warmly, and gave a soft little laugh, wiping the tear away with the back of her hand.

"Oh Shinku ..."

Her hand shot out and plunged into Shinku's right eye socket, her fingers curling around the blue orb resting there. In an instant she tore the eye clean out, leaving Shinku reeling in shock and pain. The other dolls gasped and cried out, but they were too far away to do anything, and it was too late in any event. As Shinku lay sprawled on the snow, Kirakishou stood over her and grinned madly down at her.

"If Father admires your eyes so," she explained, reaching up and slotting the stolen blue orb into her own empty eye socket, "Well then, I shall be the one to wear them." She blinked several times and then leered at Shinku, now sporting mismatching eyes like the Gardener twins. Her left eye was a slightly greenish yellow, her right eye an icy blue. "Now when Father looks into my eyes, _I_ shall remind him of Alice." She wagged a finger at Shinku, "I shall collect the other one in a moment. Be a good girl Shinku, and wait right there. Oh, and Shinku? I am not alone."

As soon as she said this, the other dolls were startled beyond words as Suiseiseki's head rolled to a stop in front of them. Astonished, Souseiseki and Suigintou turned in time to see Suiseiseki's headless body slump down onto the snow, Barasuishou standing over her with a crystal blade in her hands. Suiseiseki's Rosa Mystica floated up from her body and drifted into the smirking Enju doll, who absorbed it and glowed brightly.

"NO!" Souseiseki cried out, horrified. She hastily summoned her gardening shears and leapt at Barasuishou, intending to avenge her fallen sister. The blades of her shears slashed through empty air however, as Barasuishou shot straight up, arced backwards and landed well over a dozen feet away, still glowing brightly. Undeterred, Souseiseki charged towards her, screaming at the top of her voice. Meanwhile Suigintou turned back towards Shinku and Kirakishou, the seventh doll also glowing, as if she too had absorbed a Rosa Mystica.

"What ...?" Suigintou frowned, puzzled by this. Were the two dolls linked in some way? It seemed so.

Still lying at Kirakishou's feet with a hand pressed against her empty right eye socket, Shinku caught a glimpse of the silvery key dangling around the seventh doll's neck. Springing up from the ground, she snatched at it and tore it away. Before Kirakishou could even react, Shinku turned and sprinted a short distance, before hurling herself from the bridge and into the chasm below.

"Where do you think you are going, Shinku?" Kirakishou said aloud, marvelling at her new vision, "Don't run too far; I still need to pluck out that left eye ..."

She reached out and, without even looking, caught the blade of Suigintou's sword with her bare hand. Suigintou struggled to try and push it through her sister's hand, the blade trembling with the effort she exerted, but it was no use; Kirakishou's grip was like a vice. Her little sister finally did turn and regard her, doing so with an almost bored air about her. Seeing her with two eyes for the first time was extremely unsettling, especially as one of those eyes belonged to Shinku.

"Now big sis," Kirakishou tutted and wagged a finger at her, "I wouldn't be so confident if I were you. I know you have given yourself to Shinku. I am through pining for you. I will no longer spare you from my wrath."

Suigintou snarled at her, enraged. "Give back Shinku's eye you worthless piece of junk!" She extended her wings even as she struggled to free her sword from her sister's grasp, the black feathered appendages morphing into a pair of howling dragon heads. They darted in towards Kirakishou, intending to pincer the seventh doll. There was a sudden brilliant flash of blinding white light and the next thing Suigintou knew she was sailing back through the air to land heavily on the ground, her sword sticking into the snow beside her.

"Pitiful," Kirakishou sneered. Suigintou was startled to see a rose ring upon her finger, glowing with an intense white light. She had a Medium. As if she didn't have _enough _power. Kirakishou extended her hand towards Suigintou as the first Rozen Maiden struggled up to her feet, snatching up her sword. Kirakishou smiled, her mismatching eyes narrowing. "Oh Suigintou, you don't have a clue, do you? We are in _my _world now, and everything in it is dominated by _my _will. Including the very ground you are standing on." She turned her hand and snapped her fingers. The entire bridge trembled and shook.

Then it collapsed, sending a startled Suigintou tumbling into the chasm below.

* * *

Souseiseki slashed at Barasuishou, all thought of strategy and technique obliterated in the face of her boiling rage and burning desire to avenge her fallen sister. Barasuishou however remained utterly calm and in control, effortlessly dodging the clumsy blows directed her way.

"Stand still!" Souseiseki demanded, breathing heavily as the Enju doll darted back out of reach. Barasuishou responded by sending a hail of crystal shards at her, which she deflected with her shears. Souseiseki leapt at her again, this time bringing her weapon down with blinding speed. Her opponent raised her hand and summoned a shimmering barrier of violet light. As the shears connected with it, bolts of crackling energy discharged about them, blasting chunks out of the bridge.

After struggling and failing to penetrate the shield, Souseiseki relented and landed a few feet away, breathing heavily once more, her teeth clenched. Her grip tightened around the handle of the shears as she tried to compose herself, force herself to think rather than blindly hurling herself at her enemy.

"Why?" she demanded abruptly, her eyes pained, "We took you in! We treated you as if you were one of us! Even after everything you did! Suiseiseki thought of you as a friend, and this is how you repay her?"

Barasuishou remained unmoved by her words, her face as blank and expressionless as ever. "I was revived for a purpose," she said simply, raising her sword and pointing the tip towards Souseiseki, "To help Kirakishou bring an end to the Alice Game. When the Game ends, my father and sister will be freed and I will be able to see them again."

"And what about my sister!" Souseiseki snapped, slashing at the air furiously with her shears, "Jun was wrong about you; you haven't changed at all. Well I'm taking back Suiseiseki's Rosa Mystica, even if it means cutting you into a thousand pieces to get at it!"

No sooner had she said this than the entire bridge collapsed around them, breaking into countless slabs of stone that proceeded to fall into the yawning chasm. Neither doll seemed to care. They each leapt from one falling chunk of bridge to the next, springing at each other, blades clashing and ringing from blow after blow. Souseiseki swiped at Barasuishou's legs, and she in turn backflipped off a piece of falling bridge, landed on another, kicked off from it and shot back towards Souseiseki, swinging her sword as she did. Souseiseki opened her shears, caught the crystal blade with them, then twisted around, sending the sword spinning away into the inky blackness.

Barasuishou grabbed hold of the shears and both dolls struggled for control of the weapon, as snow and stone and debris rained down about them. Suddenly Barasuishou turned their descent into flight, propelling them both up towards Kirakishou's gleaming crystal palace. Souseiseki tried to wrench the shears from the Enju doll's grasp, but it was no use, she was too strong. Barasuishou rammed the Rozen Maiden into the side of the palace with tremendous force.

Unfortunately for Souseiseki, she had also summoned a large crystal spike moments before impact, impaling Souseiseki upon the sharp protrusion. The fourth Rozen Maiden doll could barely gasp at the pain as she glanced down, seeing the crystal sticking out through the front of her torso. Smirking, Barasuishou easily tore the gardening shears from her weak fingers, floating back a short distance to observe Souseiseki's dying throes. Souseiseki fixed her failing vision upon the white-haired doll, hand outstretched towards her, fingers grasping.

"Sui ... seiseki ... I'm ... sorry."

Souseiseki fell limp as her inner mechanism finally stopped. Her Rosa Mystica emerged from her impaled body, drifting towards the waiting Barasuishou. She absorbed it just as she'd done with Suiseiseki, her own body glowing with a bright nimbus of light. She smiled at the inner warmth, then slashed at the air with the gardening shears as it faded away.

"Two down," she said, before turning and flying off, leaving Souseiseki hanging where she was.

* * *

Suigintou touched down lightly at the bottom of the chasm, a kind of rocky ravine lined with glowing veins of pink and violet crystal. Snow continued to fall from the sky, coating the ground with a thin veneer of sparkling white flakes. She craned her neck to look upwards for some sign of Kirakishou, but the seventh sister had opted not to follow her down. She lowered her gaze as the sound of weeping reached her ears.

"Shinku?"

Shinku knelt with her back to Suigintou a short distance away, her shoulders shaking. She extended her wings and glided over to her, dropping in front of the sobbing blond doll.

"Shinku? What-" Suigintou stopped, realising at once what was wrong. Shinku clutched the key to Pandora's Box in one hand, whilst her other hand was pressed firmly against her empty right eye socket, mourning the loss of what had until recently been there.

"S-she took ... took my _eye_!" Shinku sobbed, tears streaming from her remaining eye, "A precious eye given to me by Father. One of the eyes that makes him think of Alice. H-how ... how _could she?_"

Suigintou winced out of sympathy for Shinku's plight, but reached out and hauled her sister up onto her feet, shaking her gently to try and snap her out of it.

"Shinku! I know it must hurt, but there isn't time!" Suigintou took a hold of the hand holding the key and lifted it so Shinku could see it with her remaining eye. "Remember what we came to do," she urged, "You have to bring this to Hinaichigo."

Shinku scarcely seemed to hear her, instead slipping from Suigintou's hold and falling back down to the ground. Suigintou cast a look around frantically for some sign of Kirakishou, but she was still nowhere to be seen. Where was she? Had she gone to help Barasuishou fight Souseiseki? Suigintou felt a pang of sympathy for the twins, remembering the sight of Suiseiseki's severed head. It was still possible she could be revived, but only if they could stop Kirakishou. And now Kirakishou had a Medium - who? - and any hope they might have had of doing so went out the window. Now there really was only one road open to them - Hope itself.

Suigintou fixed her gaze upon Shinku. She couldn't just take the key and leave her there, she wouldn't abandon Shinku like that. Extending one of her wings, Suigintou enveloped Shinku with it, lifting her from the ground and holding her within the mass of black feathers. Turning her eyes skyward, she shot into the air, soaring up and out of the ravine.

* * *

Hinaichigo sat atop Pandora's Box and swung her feet back and forth, watching the toys of her N-Field march to and fro. Beside her, Kanaria stood with her violin at the ready, occasionally striking up a short melody on the instrument.

"They sure are taking a long time, y'know?" Kanaria murmured nervously. Hinaichigo shrugged.

"I'm sure they'll be here soon."

"How _can _you be sure?" Kanaria demanded, lowering her violin and rounding on the little pink doll, "They could all be in big trouble! We should be helping them, not sitting here twiddling our thumbs!"

Hinaichigo blinked up at her. "But Hina isn't twiddling her thumbs ..."

Kanaria growled in annoyance and stamped away from her. She stopped short and goggled at Kirakishou, who was sitting atop one of the toy houses. When the seventh doll noticed that she was watching, she waved and giggled.

"Ah! AH! AAAHHHH!" Kanaria flapped her arms in a panic. This was _not _part of the plan! The others were supposed to keep her busy! What was she doing here? Where the heck were the others anyway? Had she ... had she _killed _them all?

Kirakishou jumped down from the house and floated to a stop, regarding Kanaria with some curiosity. She pointed vaguely at the second Rozen Maiden, her expression somewhat uncertain.

"Have we met before? I am not sure that we have. You must be Kanaria."

"I am?" Kanaria gaped, then recovered herself, raising her violin and bow in preparation to play. "I am! Yes! I am the magnificent, one and only _Kanaria!_ Greatest strategist of all time and brainiest of the Rozen Maiden dolls! So ... just you watch out, y'hear!"

"My, but you are annoying ..." Kirakishou flailed her arm and sent a massive stream of brilliant white rose petals shooting towards Kanaria, who was so surprised that all she did was stand there, open-mouthed. The attack would have been sufficient to blast her into tiny pieces, had not Hinaichigo chosen that moment to leap in front of her and block it with Pandora's Box.

"Hina won't let you hurt Kana!" the little doll declared boldly as she lowered the Box. Kirakishou seemed momentarily taken back, but quickly recovered.

"So I see. Too bad Shinku took my key; I could finish this here and now. Oh well, on with the Game ..." Kirakishou gestured, summoning rose vines that lifted Hinaichigo into the air. The Box tumbled away from her and she cried out, the vines threatening to pull her apart. Snapping out of her daze, Kanaria finally launched an attack, destroying the twisting, snaking vines with concentrated blasts of air from her violin. Hovering on the spot, Kanaria focused, playing with every ounce of strength she had.

"Symphony of destruction!"

The air around her whipped into a veritable tornado, building up increasing momentum as Kanaria continued to play. Hinaichigo joined in, snaring the seventh doll with her own strawberry vines. Once Kirakishou was held firmly in place, Hina called out to her sister.

"Do it! Get her Kanaria!"

"On it!" Kanaria replied, playing even more urgently. She directed the tornado at the trapped doll, hurling the whirlwind towards her with all her might, her rose ring gleaming with a brilliant yellow light. Kirakishou - held fast by Hina's vines - was engulfed by the storm, which whipped itself into a blurring frenzy as it tore at her, ripping at her with enough force to easily shatter a doll into a thousand pieces.

When they were certain that Kirakishou must be finished, they both eased off. Hinaichigo lowered her hands and Kanaria ceased her frantic playing, lowering her bow. As the gales subsided, both dolls stared intently, watching for some sign of their eerie sister. All that remained though were white rose petals. Hundreds of glowing white rose petals, floating in the air where Kirakishou had been.

"We ... we did it!" Kanaria exclaimed, not quite believing it herself. Hinaichigo laughed with joy at her side. Her laughter stopped as the rose petals all became still, then stretched into needle like points of light. Hundreds of them.

All aimed their way.

"That ... that's not good, is it?" said Kanaria uncertainly. Hinaichigo blinked.

"Unyuu?"

The pointed white rose petals shot towards the two dolls like a storm of bullets, a hail of relentless gunfire that struck them both again and again. They each cried out in pain, Kanaria's violin shattering as it was repeatedly impacted by the petals. It was like a death of a thousand cuts, and when the very last of the petals was fired, Kanaria and Hinaichigo slumped to the ground, their bodies battered and punctured in a dozen different places.

"Ow," said Kanaria very quietly, her vision fast fading, "That ... that really hurt ... y'know?"

Kirakishou floated down from the air and landed several feet away, grinning with glee at the sight of the two stricken dolls. Hinaichigo remained motionless, and Kanaria didn't think she had any life left in her. She didn't really have any life left herself, either. Still, as Kirakishou approached, she made one final effort to fight back.

"Pizzicato," she whispered, uncurling her hand. Her artificial spirit materialised and bobbed in front of her face, pulsing with concern for Kanaria. The second Rozen Maiden managed to turn her head enough to locate Pandora's Box, lying discarded a short distance away. Coughing, Kanaria struggled to hold on just a little longer.

"Pizzicato ... don't let her ... don't let her get it. Okay?"

As Kirakishou reached out to take a hold of Pandora's Box, Pizzicato shot towards the black doll case and then seemed to explode into a supernova of light. The seventh doll flinched and pulled back, and when the light faded both Pizzicato and Pandora's Box were gone. Seeing this, Kanaria managed one last smile.

"Not so ... not so stupid after all ... am I?" she said, her vision at last failing completely as she stopped.


	55. EP12: First and Last

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE TWELVE

First and Last

* * *

Hinaichigo lay sprawled on her back, her dress in tatters, her body marked by dozens of tiny holes. Kanaria was no better off. Both dolls were lifeless. Broken. Their Rosa Mysticas taken from them. White rose petals lay everywhere, making it painfully clear what had transpired. Shinku fell to her knees and stared at them both in utter dismay, despair swallowing her up inside.

How had this happened? How had everything gone so completely wrong? Barasuishou certainly had not helped matters. It was shocking to see her again, doubly so to see her joining forces with the very doll she'd defied time and again. Shinku couldn't begin to imagine what had prompted such a change of heart in the Enju doll. It was as if she'd forgotten everything she'd learned since being revived by Rozen. Was that why Father had brought her back in the first place? To help Kirakishou?

Shinku didn't know. She didn't know anything anymore, besides the fact that her sisters had once again fallen victim to the Alice Game, and this time she did not think Father would step in and undo the damage again as he'd done before.

"Damn them!" Suigintou snarled, turning sharply away from the sight of her stricken sisters. Shinku tried to close her eyes, then felt a stab of renewed pain as she remembered that she only had one now. She clutched at the front of her dress and grimaced.

"What of Suiseiseki and Souseiseki ..."

Suigintou exhaled heavily and lifted her gaze upwards. "Gone. Can't you feel it?"

Shinku shook her head solemnly. "I cannot feel anything except despair. What have we done, Suigintou? Father did not want this. Of that I am certain."

The light began to fade as Hinaichigo's N-Field started to shut down. The little broken blond doll sank into a puddle of bright blue-white light until she too was gone, Kanaria following soon after. Within moments Shinku and Suigintou were left standing in utter darkness, the only light remaining cast by a new portal a short distance away, waiting for them to depart.

"Then it falls on us, Shinku," Suigintou whirled around to face her, determination lining her stern features. She narrowed her pinkish eyes, steeling herself for the final confrontation. "It's two against two now. Us against them."

"Us against them," Shinku echoed morosely, giving a humourless chuckle. "Sad that it has come to this. For all that I wished to find another way, it would seem that our fate remains unchanged."

Suigintou said nothing. Her expression softened as she stared at Shinku's back, the fifth doll still kneeling. After a moment of silence Suigintou turned away and gently laid her hand on her abdomen - a part of her she had lacked for the longest time. Father had tried to spare her the pain of playing the Alice Game, of fighting her sisters. He'd left her unfinished for so long, until finally he'd taken pity on her and gave her what she wanted. He gave her a Rosa Mystica, wings, a complete body. He'd brought her back time and time again, because her desire to be with him had been so strong.

And now? She still wanted to be with him, but she didn't want to fight any more. Oh, how ironic. Just a year ago she'd felt the complete opposite. She'd treated Shinku with scorn for wanting another way, for wanting to abandon the Game and be with her sisters. Now here she was, the proud first of the Rozen Maidens, wanting the exact same thing. She was just like Shinku now. If she were to come face to face with her past self, that Suigintou would likely spit in her face now out of disgust.

Suigintou looked up and stared deeply into the dark abyss that surrounded them, not looking at anything in particular as her thoughts drifted towards her father.

"Father ... can't you stop this?" she whispered into the darkness, "Shinku is right, this _can't_ be what you want ... can it?"

No answer. Of course not. How many times had she spoken aloud to Father, hoping that he might be listening and might speak out in return? Still, she had to believe that he was watching over her. Every time she had fallen, he'd been there to bring her back. First when Souseiseki had cut her down, then when Shinku had defeated her. Even when Barasuishou had ... every time he brought her back. Every time.

Would he this time, if she fell again?

Somehow ... she didn't think so. This was truly the end. The end of the Rozen Maidens. Somehow she sensed that this was her last life, and that there would be no second chances. Not anymore. And with that in mind ... what should she do?

"Suigintou."

She turned. Shinku stood facing her, wearing an expression that Suigintou found a little worrying to behold. The fifth doll tossed something at her, something that glinted in the light of the open portal. Suigintou snatched it out of the air and glanced at it. It was the key to Pandora's Box.

"Why are you giving me this?" she asked, looking back up at Shinku. Her sister strode over to her, stopped before her and then gazed deeply into her eyes, her expression sorrowful.

"Because I cannot go on."

Suigintou's eyes widened, taken back by her words. What did she mean by that? She reached out and grabbed a hold of the green ribbon on the front of Shinku's dress.

"What are you saying? You're not just giving up, are you?"

"I am."

She couldn't believe it. Shinku ... giving up? Preposterous! In all her years of feuding with her little sister, Suigintou had _never_ known Shinku to admit defeat. Her will was indomitable. Shinku reached up and gently laid her hand upon the one Suigintou used to grasp her ribbon, her features softening.

"I have failed Father," Shinku went on, her voice full of weary resignation, "And I have failed my sisters. I am no longer worthy of becoming Alice."

Unbelievable. Suigintou's face contorted angrily, her grip on Shinku's dress tightening. "Shut up!" she snapped, "You don't know what you're saying!"

"Suigintou-"

"How dare you!" Suigintou cut her off, yanking her sister towards her, "You're the one Father wants, Shinku! You're the one he chose! From the very beginning it was _always_ you!" She stopped for a moment and then released Shinku, taking a moment to compose herself before continuing. "I've always been jealous of you. Deep down some part of me _knew _you were special, and that I was ..." Suigintou turned her head away, unable to look Shinku in the eye, "I was ... less than you."

"That is not true, Suigintou ..."

She scoffed and regarded Shinku once more. "Isn't it? Despite everything I still feel like a piece of junk. But one thing I'm certain of - if anyone can become Alice, if anyone_ should _become Alice, it's you Shinku."

Shinku actually managed to smile at her, and tilted her head a little to one side. "You underestimate yourself, Suigintou. You have changed so much. You don't see it, do you? You've stopped hating me. You no longer want to harm anyone. When you had the chance to run away, you came back, because you saw how much it pained me to leave everything behind. You have grown from an obsessive, spiteful creature, into a beautiful and caring woman." Shinku reached up with her hand and laid it against the side of Suigintou's face, smiling with genuine warmth. "Suigintou ... you are simply radiant. You're finally ready to prove to everyone that you truly have what it takes to be the perfect girl. And that is why I am giving you my Rosa Mystica."

Suigintou couldn't be more shocked if Detective Kunkun appeared and gave a heartfelt marriage proposal to her. She was struck speechless by Shinku's words, both her praise and her final announcement. She reached up and gently pulled Shinku's hand away as she gaped at her sister.

"What? I don't ... how can you-"

"Shhh," Shinku pressed a silencing finger over Suigintou's lips, "This is my choice to make. It occurs to me now that we never had to fight to become Alice. We could have elected to give ourselves willingly to one of our sisters, so that Alice could be born from an act of selflessness - six sisters sacrificing themselves of their own free will so that one sister might peacefully become Alice. Without fighting. Without bloodshed."

"Shinku-"

"We never needed Pandora's Box. All we ever really needed was to learn to be on good terms with each other, and decide between us who should carry the light of truth. In the end, Alice will be born when our souls are united together as one."

Shinku bowed her head and cupped her hands together. A moment later a dazzling red light shone brightly as her Rosa Mystica emerged from within her. Shinku held it in her hands, admiring the beauty of it, the halo of rainbow coloured lights surrounding the tiny red gemstone. Suigintou remained wordless, completely at a loss by Shinku's decision.

"Suigintou," Shinku smiled earnestly at her, "I freely give you my light. Take it without remorse or regret."

Suigintou shook her head, doubt and uncertainty clouding her features. "No, Shinku, I ..."

"This is what you have always wanted. In all our years fighting one another, never did it occur to me that I could have ended our feud at any time by simply giving you what you wished. The perfect girl must be selfless, Suigintou. I selflessly give you my heart and soul, and you in turn selflessly wish for me to keep them. You are ready to become Alice now, Suigintou."

Before Suigintou could utter another word of protest, Shinku surged forwards and pressed her gleaming Rosa Mystica into Suigintou's torso. The red light faded as it sank into her, filling her with a brilliant shining radiance of her own. As Shinku's empty body dropped, Suigintou shone like a nova, her entire body brimming with an intense, overwhelming warmth.

Shinku's Rosa Mystica. Her thoughts, her feelings, her memories, everything that made her Shinku. Suigintou felt it all fill her body and mind, surging through her like a tidal wave, giving her strength. More than that, she felt Shinku's love for her, for Jun, for their sisters and for Father. It was unlike anything she'd ever felt before. She cupped her hands to her face and gasped, for the first time in her life knowing with utter certainty how Shinku actually _felt_. It was the most wonderful thing she had ever experienced.

Her aura faded and she closed her eyes for a long moment, standing there alone in the darkness, letting Shinku's essence flow freely through her. A smile of heartfelt gratitude and love spread across her face. Finally she opened her eyes. Shinku's body was gone, but the shimmering portal remained. Suigintou strode purposefully towards it and gave a confident twirl as she stood upon it.

"It's time to end it," she said as she sank down into the portal and vanished.

* * *

Kirakishou and Barasuishou were waiting for her in the main hallway of the seventh doll's glittering crystal palace. They stood side by side, waiting for Suigintou and Shinku to come to them. When they saw only the first Rozen Maiden march into the hall, they both exchanged a look.

"Shinku did not come," said Kirakishou.

"She did not," Barasuishou concurred.

"You're wrong," Suigintou called out to them, coming to a stop, "Shinku is here, inside me."

They stared at her, then exchanged another look.

"Interesting ..."

"Very interesting ..."

"I have no wish to fight either of you," Suigintou said flatly, "Yet I suspect I have no choice. If I do not, you will harm the humans you have prisoner."

"We will," said Kirakishou.

"Indeed we will," Barasuishou affirmed. Suigintou sighed, smiling faintly.

"Father instructed that we should never harm humans," she pointed out, "You should have listened to him, sister."

Kirakishou grinned and summoned a crystal sword. "I shall apologise to him," she said, brandishing the weapon, "when I am Alice."

Barasuishou summoned a crystal sword of her own, both dolls now standing ready to fight. Suigintou looked from one to the other, calculating. She was at a disadvantage. Not only was it two against one, each of them had two extra Rosa Mysticas, and Kirakishou had a Medium. No doubt she would also be sharing her Medium's power with Barasuishou given the connection they seemed to have between them.

Outnumbered, outclassed and pretty much outgunned. In theory, Suigintou didn't stand a chance. Nevertheless she wasn't afraid, nor worried overmuch. There was more to victory than just power, she knew that now. And now she had Shinku. If anything she pitied them, because they had no idea what they were up against, and no clue what was about to hit them.

"Watch me, Father," Suigintou whispered, "I shall not disappoint you."

Flexing her hands, she summoned _two _swords, her wings growing large as she smiled. Kirakishou and Barasuishou hesitated briefly, uncertainty flickering across their faces as they saw the look in Suigintou's eyes. Something about it made them pause, though only for a moment. Regaining their resolve, they attacked.

Blades clashed and rang out as Kirakishou and Barasuishou attacked relentlessly, showing no mercy. Suigintou expected none, and effortlessly fended their attacks off, deflecting their blades with her twin swords. The battle took to the air as all three dolls rocketed about the crystal hallway, attacking, countering, parrying and thrusting. Suigintou turned aside a vicious sideswipe and then cartwheeled around Barasuishou, slipping behind the Enju doll and lashing out. As she spun and blocked the attack, Suigintou made a follow up attack with her second sword, using her first to force Barasuishou's weapon down and away, rendering her defenceless.

It would have worked, had Barasuishou not summoned Souseiseki's gardening shears to block the attack. She disengaged and then launched a flurry of attacks with both weapons, Suigintou's swords dancing in a blur of motion as they fought to keep up with the onslaught. Meanwhile Kirakishou had teleported behind her eldest sister, and bore down on her with the point of her blade. She was stopped short when Suigintou's wings morphed into fierce dragon heads, their wide jaws snapping at her even as Suigintou continued to battle Barasuishou. She was forced to turn her attempted backstab into a flying retreat, the dragon heads giving chase across the hallway, howling at her as they pursued her.

Flying backwards away from them, Kirakishou summoned Kanaria's violin and plucked at the strings, sending a concussive blast of sound at the snapping dragon heads to disorient them. With a wave of her hand she called up a mixture of strawberry and rose vines, snaring them both. As they writhed and thrashed about in an effort to break free, Kirakishou flailed her arms at them, sending a massive wave of white rose petals towards them. It connected and they exploded ... into an equally massive cloud of black feathers, which proceeded to aim themselves at her and then shoot at her like a thousand speeding darts. Flinching, Kirakishou directed all her energy towards shielding herself from the onslaught with a protective barrier.

Back with Barasuishou, the Enju doll lost her crystal blade when Suigintou brought both of her swords around in opposing arcs that connected against Barasuishou's sword and shattered it completely. Barasuishou shot back through the air and conjured Suiseiseki's watering can. Spraying sparkling water about the hallway, Suigintou was forced to dodge about as branches shot out from the walls and floor, threatening to catch her off guard and knock her off balance. As she concentrated on avoiding these, Barasuishou zipped about and tried to snip her wings from her back using the gardening shears. She was thwarted when Suigintou hovered on the spot and spun around and around repeatedly, unleashing wave after wave of red rose petals that tore apart the branches and sent Barasuishou spiralling into the far wall. She crashed into it, cracking the crystal, and lay there, momentarily stunned.

Before she could take advantage of this, Suigintou was forced to defend herself from Kirakishou once more, blocking a jet of white rose petals with a hastily conjured shield. As the seventh doll bore down on her with her crystal blade, Suigintou transformed both of her own swords into black feathers and fired them at Kirakishou. Caught off guard by this, she was forced to twist and dodge to avoid them, and was caught further unawares when Suigintou appeared beside her wielding Shinku's cane. She hooked Kirakishou around the neck with it and then hurled her through the air, where she smacked into Barasuishou just as the Enju doll was in the process of pulling herself out of the wall.

Both dolls plummeted to the floor and hit it heavily, landing in a sprawled heap together. Suigintou landed lightly a short distance away, tossing the cane aside. As her opponents struggled to their feet they were subjected to a shattering impact from Suigintou's wings, which slammed into them both and wrapped around them, squeezing tightly as they lifted the dolls into the air. Kirakishou and Barasuishou writhed in the vice-like grip of Suigintou's black feathers, the Enju doll crying out in pain at one point. Kirakishou shimmered and vanished, teleporting away.

Once Suigintou was satisfied that the seventh doll was not around, she directed her now free second wing towards Barasuishou, engulfing the poor unfortunate doll completely in a cocoon of black feathers. She squeezed and squeezed, intending to crush the doll within altogether. Before she could, a shaft of scorching violet light broke free, and a moment later the tips of Suigintou's wings exploded from a burst of intense energy. Barasuishou floated serenely down, glowing with a bright nimbus of light.

Whereupon Suigintou punched her, sending her careering through a set of double doors. She sailed through the air and landed upon a gleaming crystal dining table. As Barasuishou struggled to her feet, Suigintou sent a combined blast of rose petals and feathers at her, which she barely managed to shield herself from. As the projectiles were scattered though, Barasuishou lowered her hands just in time to see Suigintou shooting towards her, fist first, and took another punch to the face.

She flew into a mirror, shattering it. There she lay in a sprawled heap of broken glass, within a room full of mirrors. Suigintou strode through the empty frame of the broken mirror, calmly picked Barasuishou up and hurled her into another mirror. This time however the Enju doll melted through the reflective surface, vanishing from sight. Suigintou stared at the rippling mirror for a second, then extended her hand. One of the broken shards at her feet shot up into her outstretched hand. She then spun on her heel and hurled the shard like a shuriken.

It buried itself in Barasuishou's forehead, just as she was in the process of sneaking up on Suigintou after emerging from the mirror behind her. The shard severed the string of her eyepatch, which promptly slipped away from her face and fell to the floor. Barasuishou gaped widely for a long moment, then fell back onto the floor and did not get up again.

"That was for the twins," Suigintou muttered, extending her hand to beckon for her sisters stolen Rosa Mystica. The red gemstones floated up from Barasuishou's body and drifted into Suigintou, filling her with warmth as she absorbed them. When their light had faded, she strode away from the fallen doll and stared up at the ceiling.

"Kirakishou!" she called out in challenge, "It's just you and me now. Show yourself!"

Suigintou heard a sound from behind. Turning, she saw that one of the mirrors was glowing with a white light. Taking a deep breath, she took off and sailed into portal, ready to face the final Rozen Maiden doll for the final time.

* * *

It was a field of roses, stretching as far as the eye could see. An alternating mixture of white and black roses, beneath a swirling grey sky, lit by the occasional flash of lightning. An accompanying roll of thunder boomed across the field of flowers as Suigintou and Kirakishou faced off against each other.

"The first and last Rozen Maiden dolls," observed Kirakishou, all trace of giggling, grinning humour gone from her now, "Somehow I always knew it would come to this. Are you excited?"

"No," said Suigintou flatly, staring her sister down as white and black rose petals floated in the air between them. Kirakishou narrowed her mismatching eyes.

"No?"

"No. Should I be?"

"I should certainly think so. This is the final battle of the Alice Game, big sis. Whichever one of us wins this fight shall become Alice. Our entire lives, our very existence has lead us to this one moment. After centuries of fighting, we arrive here, now. The End."

Suigintou sighed and took a moment to consider the gravity of the situation. "I suppose then that now is the time to say something profound ..." She frowned and then shrugged. "Nothing comes to mind. Oh well. Are you ready?"

Kirakishou raised her hand and summoned a fresh white crystal blade. "For what it is worth, big sis, I shall miss you when I am Alice."

Suigintou summoned her own sword and pointed the tip at her little sister, giving a wry smile. "For what it is worth, Kirakishou, I appreciate the sentiment."

They stood for a long time, neither moving, each staring the other down. Suigintou couldn't help thinking how overly dramatic the entire thing was, but then it couldn't be helped. It would be hard to imagine the stakes being any higher than they were now.

Kirakishou made the first move. She whipped her free hand around and plucked Kanaria's violin out of the air, before bringing her sword across and drawing the flat of the blade over the strings. This released screeching waves of concussive air, tearing through the roses between her and Suigintou. In response, Suigintou produced Suiseiseki's watering can and drenched the ground at her feet, blocking the sound waves with a wall of branches that sprang forth. As the sound waves blasted the branches apart, Kirakishou leapt through the scattered splinters and shot a mix of strawberry and rose vines from her hand, grappling Suigintou's sword. Suigintou replaced the watering can with the shears and used them to cut the vines snaring her main weapon.

The dolls finally clashed, blade against blade, then sprang apart. White and black rose petals filled the air and thunder boomed overhead. They each sent a surge of glowing rose petals directed at the other, the two blasts impacting together and dispersing.

"Rosary!" Kirakishou cried, summoning her artificial spirit and directing it to attack Suigintou.

"Meimei!" Suigintou replied, hurling her own artificial spirit in counter attack. The two spirits zipped around each other before connecting. The resultant energy release created a shockwave that tore a crater into the ground.

As white and black rose petals and broken stems rained down, the two dolls came at each other again. Kirakishou unleashed a storm of crystal projectiles at her sister, whilst Suigintou replied in kind with a hurricane of black feathers. Projectiles struck projectiles, knocking each other out of the air as the first and last Rozen Maiden dolls crashed together in one final almighty clash of blades.

Everything suddenly became still. Black feathers and white rose petals drifted slowly from the sky, Suigintou and Kirakishou standing before one another with their respective weapons held tight. A much more subdued roll of thunder washed over the combatants. Seconds passed, the two dolls staring into each others eyes.

Kirakishou smiled.

"Got you."

Suigintou glanced down to confirm her worst fears. Kirakishou's crystal blade had pierced her abdomen, impaling her. Her own sword fell from her grasp and clattered to the ground. Her eyes widened at the sudden pain that coursed through her body, made all worse by the horrible irony of the situation. The blow that had cost her the Alice Game had been landed on the very body part that her father had originally left her without.

Oh, that was so very unfunny.

Suigintou looked up once more into her little sister's now ecstatic face. She'd ... lost. After everything, she had ... lost. It was as simple as that. Her life flashed before her eyes, moments of joy, moments of heartache, time she had spent with Father, with Megu, and with Shinku. The times she had hurt her sisters and the times she had helped them. The best and worst moments of her life.

And all of it had been, in the end, for nothing.

Because she had lost.

"No," she said, feeling an odd burst of warmth shoot through her. Kirakishou tilted her head, regarding her oddly.

"No?" She twisted the blade sharply, prompting Suigintou to flinch and cry out.

"No!" Suigintou screamed, suddenly glaring at Kirakishou. She reached out and grabbed a hold of the crystal sword impaling her. "I ... will _not _let it ... end ... not like this." She gasped and pulled herself further along the blade, shoving it deeper into her abdomen and bringing herself closer to her sister. Kirakishou frowned and tried to tug her weapon free, but by now Suigintou was close enough to reach out and grab a hold of _her_.

"Let go," Kirakishou commanded. With tears streaming down her face, Suigintou ignored her and gripped her sister tight.

"_You_!" Suigintou snarled, her entire body trembling now, "All of this is because of _you_. We were all happy together. If it were not for _you_, we might have been able to do as Shinku believed we were meant to do. Alice could have been born without ... without fighting."

"Release me!"

"But you ... so selfish, so obsessed ... so like _I_ used to be ..."

"GET OFF!"

"I am Suigintou, proud first of the Rozen Maiden dolls, and I will not let such a wretched, insolent and _horrid _little sister become Alice!"

Suigintou burst into flames, burning blue fire that engulfed her and - because she was holding tightly onto her - Kirakishou as well. The flames ate at them both, devouring their dresses and hair, scorching their skin, consuming the two dolls with frightening intensity. Kirakishou screamed and tried desperately to free herself, but it was no use. When at last she realised it was futile, she gazed forlornly into Suigintou's eyes and wept.

"I'm sorry, big sis."

"Too late," said Suigintou.

The first and last Rozen Maiden dolls lay together in the middle of a huge crater, surrounded by black feathers and white rose petals, the flickering blue flames spluttering and then dying as the doll that fuelled them ceased to be.

The Rozen Maidens were no more.


	56. EP13: The Light of Truth

Yes, you're reading that right - episode thirteen. I know I promised twelve episodes total, but I still have several chapters to write before I'm done, and episode twelve is already way longer than any other episode so far. Since last chapter ended on quite a dramatic cliff-hanger, I figured I'd break my own rule and put the final chapters into a thirteenth episode to wrap this story up. In practical terms it makes no real difference, it's mostly just for appearance sake. Besides, thirteen is a pretty significant number, so what the heck. This will be the only episode not to have an episode preview for it, but I cannot even begin to imagine a preview that wouldn't spoil everything.

Anyway, that's enough rambling from me. Here is the first part of episode thirteen. This episode should wrap up all the loose ends and answer all the questions. Expect some pretty heavy plot exposition stuff this chapter, as all the secrets of Märchen come out here. I hope you enjoy it all the same. Please review and let me know!

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE THIRTEEN

The Light of Truth

* * *

Jun Sakurada groaned, every inch of him protesting in the form of a deep, dull throbbing ache. He'd never been hit by a car, drowned, fallen off a building or electrocuted, but he had a sense that what he was feeling right now was not that far off from any of those things. He'd been drained of power before, the worst times being when he'd just become Shinku's Medium and, more recently, when she had pulled her time warping shenanigans on him.

This was worse. The same kind of pain, the same crushing weariness, but cranked up to eleven. He felt as if he was too tired to ever move again. He could easily see himself lying here for the rest of his life, assuming he even _had_ a life left. Presumably he did, after all being dead shouldn't hurt this much, should it?

He opened his eyes and saw only darkness. This did little to reassure him of his mortality status, however he became vaguely aware that he was lying on his back against something quite solid. Something perfectly flat and smooth, quite hard, and a little cool. Certainly not a bed.

With a slowness that could probably be measured in geographical terms, Jun crawled around onto his front and lifted himself up a fraction to try and see where he was. All he saw was whiteness. His tired brain struggled to comprehend this - blackness above, whiteness below ... where the heck was he? He still had his glasses on, he could feel them slipping down his nose. He managed to slide them back in place and adjust his gaze enough to peer ahead.

It was a chessboard. A giant life-size chessboard, and he was lying on one of the squares. His battered synapses nudged a recollection into the forefront of his mind, pointing out that he had been here before. Valentine's Day. This was the same chessboard where he had reunited with Shinku and then loudly professed his true feelings to her, much to his later embarrassment. What was he doing here? The last thing he remembered he'd been trapped in Kirakishou's crystal cavern, her various captives strung up in her web. There must have been fighting because his ring had glowed white and burned him. Eventually he became so weak from the constant energy drain that he passed out.

His ring. Mind screaming an alarm at him, Jun held his hand up in front of his eyes and saw to his horror that his rose ring was gone, leaving a pale mark where it had been. Gone. His ring. That meant ... any number of things. Perhaps it had simply faded away because too much of his power had been used up. That had happened before, only to reappear a short while later. Or maybe the dolls had released him from his covenant while he was unconscious. Although all three of them would have to do so for the ring to be completely gone.

There was of course another explanation, loathe though he was to even entertain it. They could all be dead. Last year he'd lost his ring when Shinku and Suiseiseki lost the Alice Game to Barasuishou. If the same thing had happened again ...

"Shinku ..." Jun whispered, wrenching his head up and searching frantically about. The chessboard stretched out before him, floating in a vast expanse of complete blackness. As Jun's gaze darted to and fro, looking for some sign of Shinku, his eyes soon located the object of his search a short distance away. The fifth Rozen Maiden doll lay sprawled upon one of the squares. Jun felt his heart thud painfully in his chest.

"Shinku!"

He struggled to his feet and ran towards her, or at least tried. After two faltering steps his legs gave way and his head spun. He was too weak to move properly. He'd already lost a lot of his power thanks to Shinku winding back his time key earlier. Having Kirakishou force a covenant with him and then getting into a major fight did little to help matters. It was a miracle he wasn't dead. Other Mediums _had_ almost died from far lesser situations.

"Shin-ku!" Jun cried, fighting the weakness that turned his legs to jelly and pounded the inside of his skull. Unable to walk he opted to crawl instead, dragging himself across the chessboard towards the unmoving doll. When finally he reached Shinku he shook her to try and wake her, hoping desperately that she was just sleeping, yet knowing she was not.

"Wake up! Come on Shinku, you can't be gone, not again!" Jun wailed, shaking Shinku back and forth. It was of course no use. There was no life in the little doll. He cradled her in his arms and hugged her, rocking back and forth. As he did so he saw a splash of colour out of the corner of his eye and turned towards it.

It was Hinaichigo. From the look of her she would not be climbing atop of his head again anytime soon. On the square beside her was Kanaria. Jun gawked at them, gently letting Shinku slip from his arms. Slowly, he climbed back up onto his feet and stood, swaying a little as he swept his gaze across the chessboard.

All of them. They were all here. Suigintou. Kirakishou. Suiseiseki. Souseiseki. All the Rozen Maidens. All lying broken, scattered about the board, lifeless. Jun was stunned. What had happened? How had they _all_ ended up like this? His heart thudding painfully, Jun reached up and clutched the side of his head, fighting off a surge of despair that threatened to overwhelm him completely.

"Not again," he groaned, turning on the spot as he looked from one broken doll to the other, "No, please, not again, not again, not again!"

It was just like before. Just like last year. Only this time Kirakishou was added to the list as well. All seven Rozen Maiden dolls. All dead. All broken.

As Jun continued to turn on the spot he eventually stopped as he found himself staring across the board at a familiar figure - that of a blond haired man wearing white. He'd seen him last year as well, albeit briefly.

"Rozen," he breathed, relief coursing through him. It was the doll's father! He would be able to fix things, just like last time! "Rozen!"

Rozen did not seem happy if the expression on his face was anything to go by. He stood outside the chessboard and stared past Jun, his emerald eyes fixed upon something else. Frowning, Jun turned to see what he was looking at, and soon spotted another familiar figure. An anthropomorphic white rabbit in a suit.

Laplace no Ma.

"You ..." Jun gaped at the demon, then looked from him to Rozen, puzzled. "What's going on?" he asked. The two men were standing at opposite ends of the board, staring each other down, neither saying a word, neither moving an inch. Just standing there in eerie silence. Seconds ticked by, until finally Jun could stand it no more. His head darted back and forth as he turned from one to the other.

"What are you waiting for? Do something! Don't just stand there!"

Nothing. Neither Rozen nor Laplace reacted. Jun glared at Rozen and pointed sharply at one of the broken dolls.

"Fix them! Isn't that why you're here? None of them can become Alice if they're _all _broken! Right? So what are you waiting for? Rozen!"

Rozen would not even look at him. He simply stood with his hands in his pockets and stared at Laplace, who in turn stared back at him, neither figure so much as blinking. Growing increasingly frustrated Jun rounded on Laplace, his hands clenched tight at his sides.

"Hey! Hey you! Aren't you even going to say anything?"

Finally Laplace did speak, his voice infuriatingly calm as ever. "The Game is not yet over," he said patiently, "There is one move that has yet to be made." He extended a gloved hand and gestured to a point on the chessboard. Jun followed and was startled to see Pandora's Box lying on one of the white squares a short distance away. Laplace withdrew his hand and stood once more in silence, whilst Jun cast his gaze about. It didn't take him long to spot the silvery key on a chain, lying on the square occupied by Suigintou.

Well why not? If nobody had yet opened the Box, then ... then he could, right? It was supposed to contain Hope - an artificial spirit able to do just about anything. That was the legend, right? Maybe Pandora or Hope would help. Hesitating only briefly, Jun staggered over to Suigintou and knelt down to retrieve the key. He winced as he saw the state the first Rozen Maiden was in, all burned up just like she'd been when he and Shinku had defeated her that time in his dream world. He hated seeing her like that. He hated seeing them all this way, to be honest.

Neither Rozen nor Laplace seemed inclined to do or say anything to stop him, so Jun took the key over to Pandora's Box and knelt before it. It sat there invitingly, just waiting to be opened. Jun cast one final look at the two silent figures, before slotting the key into the lock and turning it. He reached out and raised the lid, holding his breath as he did so.

Inside lay a doll, Pandora presumably. She was quite beautiful, really, with long silky black hair and an excessively frilled and ruffled black-red dress. Her eyes were closed and she appeared to be sleeping. Jun could see her winding key lying in the case beside her.

"Will you wind, or will you not wind?" said Laplace, startling Jun. He stared at the demon for a long moment, then glanced over at Rozen.

"Rozen? Should I wind her?" he asked, uncertain.

Rozen said nothing. He wasn't even looking at Jun; his eyes remained fixed upon Laplace, his face scowling somewhat. Realising that he couldn't think of anything else to do, Jun decided to wind Pandora up and see what came of that. He lifted the doll from her case, took up her winding key and slotted it into the hole in her back.

"Okay lady, play nice," Jun said as he heard the clicking sound of internal gears, "And don't slap me, I haven't even peeked up your skirt."

Pandora jerked in his hands as he set the key down. Jun held onto her, though his mind flashed back to the time when he'd done this same thing to Shinku after finding her doll case lying in the middle of his room. He'd wound her up for the first time, and had his first ever encounter with a Rozen Maiden doll. The first thing Shinku had done was walk up to him and slap him across the face. It had set the tone for their relationship, really. Not something he was ever likely to forget in a hurry.

Jun set the doll down on the surface of the board and shuffled back, giving her some room. She continued to make stiff, jerking motions, as if she hadn't moved in a very long time. From what he knew of her she probably hadn't been wound up in a couple of hundred years at the very least. A long time to be asleep.

Pandora opened her eyes and stared at him. Her eyes were the same deep red as Shinku's dress, and looking into them sent a shiver down his spine. Jun swallowed.

"Are you ... Pandora?"

The doll continued to stare at him for a long moment before answering. "Yes," she said simply. She took a step towards Jun and then cast her gaze about the board, taking note of the scattered Rozen Maiden dolls. As she did so a sinister smile spread across her face, which did little to reassure Jun. He pressed on regardless.

"Can you help them?"

Pandora turned back to him and frowned. "Whatever for?"

Jun gaped at her. "They're broken. Can't you fix them?"

Pandora gave a worrying chuckle. "Fix them? And why would I wish to do something like that? Silly boy." She glanced over at Rozen and gave him a wicked smile. "Don't tell me; this one's your apprentice, isn't he? He has that same innocent look in his eyes you had when you were his age."

Jun regarded Rozen as well, his mouth hanging open. "Rozen?"

The dollmaker finally took notice of something other than Laplace, redirecting his scowl at the doll standing in front of Jun. Still he said nothing, though. Pandora continued to smile smugly as she turned now to face Laplace, giving a polite curtsey as she did so.

"I am ready, Father," she said.

"Father?" Jun stared at her, aghast. "_He's_ your _father_?"

Laplace bowed deeply. "Proceed."

Pandora strode past Jun without giving him so much as a second glance, moving to stand in the middle of the chessboard. Jun was so stunned by the revelation that she was _Laplace's _daughter that he simply goggled at her, unable to react in any meaningful fashion. When Pandora was in position she extended her hands towards the burned remains of Suigintou and Kirakishou. Jun watched, horrified, as a mass of gleaming Rosa Mysticas emerged from the broken dolls and shot through the air towards Pandora, who embraced them with a smile.

"No ..." said Jun weakly. Even if he could think of something to do it wouldn't make any difference. It was simply too late. Pandora glowed brightly from the sudden infusion of Rosa Mysticas, only in this case the glow did not fade. Her features enraptured, the doll floated into the air and hovered above the board. The halo of light surrounding her grew in intensity until it obscured her altogether. Jun shielded his eyes from the bright glare, and when it lessened enough for him to see clearly his mouth hung open at the sight before him.

Pandora was encased in a perfectly smooth white crystal, almost egg like in shape. It was impossible to see her clearly anymore. The thing floated in the inky blackness above the chessboard and ... that was it.

Nothing else happened.

"What's going on?" Jun found himself directing the question towards Laplace, who stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his crimson eyes fixed upon the crystal chrysalis suspended in the air.

"Now that the Rosa Mystica is complete, Pandora has entered a gestalt state," the demon explained, "Soon she will transform and be reborn ... as Alice."

"W-what?" Jun was completely lost. How? Pandora wasn't a Rozen Maiden, how could _she_ become Alice? The last doll to try that stunt wound up crumbling before his very eyes. Gritting his teeth, Jun got to his feet and glared at Laplace. "What are you talking about?" he demanded, "How can she be Alice? Isn't the light of truth too 'dazzling' for _your _daughter? What makes her so much better than Enju's doll that she can do that?"

Laplace transformed, his features melting and shifting, taking on a more human appearance. Within seconds the demon had assumed the form of the Enju Doll shopkeeper Jun had encountered last year, under the name of Shirosaki. Still wearing the same suit as his rabbit form, Laplace pressed a white gloved hand to his chest and smiled at Jun.

"Haven't you figured that out yet, Sakurada?" He made a swift gesture with his other hand and plucked an object out of the air. It was a journal of some kind. Laplace tossed it at Jun and it drifted gracefully and slowly towards him. Frowning, Jun snatched at it as soon as it was within reach, opening it up at the bookmarked page. A section had been highlighted, drawing his attention.

_Once created, I took the Rosa Mystica into my dream world and fused Alice into it. I then returned to the real world and waited. In truth I knew my plan was doomed to fail, because my visit to the future when I was a boy showed me that it would not succeed. Nevertheless I am puzzled as to why it did not work. Why did the Rosa Mystica not give life to Alice? I have no explanation for the failure. Fate itself is no reason. I do not understand it._

_In the end I did as I knew I must - I split the Rosa Mystica into seven fragments and used each fragment to give life to one of my dolls. Thus each and every one of my beloved children carries a piece of Alice within them. Indeed, they themselves are a part of Alice, as the Rosa Mystica are the source of their very existence, the core of their being._

Jun lowered the journal and turned to Rozen. "You wrote this?"

Rozen nodded. Still puzzled, Jun reread the highlighted passage and then glanced back up at Laplace, who waited patiently for him to work it out. Try as he might though, Jun could not understand what the demon was getting at. Sensing his difficulty, Laplace clasped his hands behind his back once more and smiled smugly.

"Oh dear, and I thought it was so obvious ... the reason Rozen failed in his initial attempt at creating Alice was because _I_ stole a fragment of the Rosa Mystica without his knowledge. I placed it within a doll of my own design - Pandora; I couldn't resist naming her after the Greek legend - and then sent her back in time to be found by Rozen as a boy. Hiding the fragment in plain sight, as it were. I didn't think he would suspect Pandora of possessing the eighth and final Rosa Mystica, having known her personally years before he had even made the stone."

Jun's eyes grew wide as he finally began to understand. "Pandora has a Rosa Mystica?"

Laplace nodded. "The missing piece to the puzzle. Without her fragment, Alice could never be born."

"... why? What's the point?"

"The point?" Laplace blinked at him, surprised he would even ask. "Fun, of course."

"Fun?" Jun breathed, unable to believe what he was hearing. "You call all of this _fun_?"

"I do. It is all part of the glorious Alice Game that I created."

"_You _created?"

The demon chuckled. "Why, certainly; from the very beginning that was my objective. I sabotaged Rozen's efforts and then planted the seeds of a fascination with dolls in his young mind. I told you I love dolls, didn't I? When he had created seven dolls and still had no Alice, I approached him and offered him a solution to his dilemma."

Jun saw where this was all going and filled in the blanks himself, his voice growing dull. "You told him you could help him to create Alice, but ... if he wanted your help then ... then he would have to agree to play the Alice Game with you."

Laplace laughed merrily and clapped his hands together. "Now you're getting it! Very good, Sakurada. Yes, I told Rozen that if he would play the Alice Game then I could guarantee Alice would be born at the conclusion of the Game. All he had to do was agree to abide by the rules I set down. And so he did. Though ..." He cast a wry glance at Rozen, who remained silent throughout the exchange with Jun, "I have a feeling Rozen suspected me from the very beginning. Made things difficult, especially with that Kirakishou doll of his. I had to go to the trouble of manipulating Enju and Barasuishou in order to bring about the conditions to awaken the real seventh doll and get her involved in the Game. You saw my handiwork there last year, I believe."

"Yeah," Jun muttered darkly, tossing the journal down onto the floor, "I saw."

Laplace pressed his hands together and gazed off into the distance with a dreamy, contented look. "Yes, the Rozen Maidens provided me with centuries of amusement and entertainment. Their battles, their tea parties ... oh but I do _so_ love dolls. Such fun. But of course the real prize was to be Alice, and what could be more fun than arranging things so that _my _doll should become the ultimate girl? You see, I kept my promise. I have helped to bring Alice into the world, but when she is finally born she will be _my _daughter, not Rozen's. And so, in the end, the winner of the Alice Game ..." Laplace removed his top hat and gave a theatrical bow, "is me ..."

The crystal egg cracked. Laplace stood upright and replaced his hat, tapping the top of it as he did so. All eyes turned towards the floating object, the gestalt form of Alice. The cracks spread, light seeping out from within. Pandora's transformation was almost complete. Rozen scowled, Jun gaped and Laplace smiled.

"Gentlemen," he announced, "please give a warm welcome to my daughter, Alice ..."


	57. EP13: Alice

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE THIRTEEN

Alice

* * *

Jun turned away from the spectacle floating above him and rounded on Rozen, waving his arms in a frantic gesture to get his attention. The dollmaker had ceased scowling at the proceedings and now seemed quite calm and laid back about the whole thing. Jun however was anything but.

"Rozen! Aren't you going to do anything?"

He didn't answer. Jun stamped his foot as anger replaced some of the energy he'd so recently lost courtesy of his overtaxed covenant. "We trusted you! You sent us after that damn Box! You even helped us to find it! And for what? So your daughters could fight and die for _nothing_?"

"Don't be too hard on him, Sakurada," Laplace chided, "I'm sure he believed Pandora would help, just as you did. After all, that was why I started that little fairy tale in the first place."

Jun glared at him. "_Fairy _tale?"

"That story you read in the book Barasuishou gave you - a book written by Eike Grimm. Who heard the legend from Enju, who in turn heard it from yours truly. A quaint little fairy tale that had everyone hoping and dreaming for their own happily ever after. The thing is," Laplace fixed his eyes upon Jun in an altogether sinister fashion, a wry smile on his face, "Once upon a time fairy tales weren't nearly as nice as they are today ..."

Something was writhing within the crystalline egg suspended in the air, and as the cracks continued to spread light strobed out from them and cast shifting shadows across the length of the chessboard. Any second now the thing would split right open and Alice would emerge. Still angry, Jun rounded on Rozen again, who was actually smirking a little.

"Jun?" he said, speaking at long last. Jun was so thrown off guard that his anger stalled and he stared.

"... yeah?"

"Stop fretting so much."

Jun gaped at him. "How can you _say _that?"

Rozen stepped onto the board and strolled across the glossy surface of alternating squares, glancing about at his broken dolls and wincing occasionally. He came to a stop a few feet away from Jun and treated him to such a relaxed look that Jun was simply baffled by his behaviour.

"Because," he said, "I've known about all of this for quite some time."

"You have?" Jun said, sounding a little dubious. Rozen nodded.

"Of course. Why do you think I allowed it all to go this far? I'm not as oblivious as Laplace likes to think I am."

"We shall have to agree to disagree on that point, Rozen ..." Laplace murmured. Rozen ignored him.

"I could have taken steps to interfere with his clever little plan, but there was no need. As soon as I realised that he had overlooked something, it seemed to me the best course of action was to do nothing."

"Really," said Jun with a healthy shade of scepticism, "Nothing? That's your big plan? Would ya mind spelling it out for me? You might not be so oblivious but some of us are still in school."

"Yes Rozen, do tell," Laplace chuckled, "What precisely _have _I overlooked?"

Rozen looked past Jun at the smirking demon, a faint smile of his own playing across his features. "It was staring you in the face and you didn't see it, did you?"

"See what?" asked Jun, still failing to see anything but the strobing lights from the Alice gestalt.

"All the people Kirakishou abducted today. She snatched each and every one of them because they were all people my daughters cared for a great deal. You see Laplace, my daughters may have been good obedient little girls when I first made them, but lately? These last few years they've all been changing. Growing up, I suppose you could say."

Rozen strolled over to the decapitated form of Suiseiseki and knelt down beside her. He placed her severed head back upon her shoulders and made a complex series of gestures over her, movements Jun recognised as the same he used himself when repairing Kohaku and Rosetta. With a flash of golden light the damage was undone and she was whole once more, though without her Rosa Mystica she was still nothing more than an ordinary doll. Rozen reached out and tenderly brushed her cheek, smiling still as he did so.

"If I were to personally order Suiseiseki to strike down Souseiseki, she would refuse. Even though I'm her father, even though I made her. She cares too much for her twin to do something like that."

He stood and moved over to Hinaichigo, standing over the little doll in the pink dress and staring down at her with his hands in his pockets. "And Hina. If I instructed her to harm a hair on Tomoe Kashiwaba's head, do you think she would do it?" Rozen glanced up at Jun, and as their eyes met they both shared a knowing smile. "Of course not," Rozen continued, "She'd throw a tantrum instead."

"Yup," Jun murmured in agreement, knowing only too well how Hina could throw a temper tantrum when asked to do something she didn't want to do. Rozen turned on the spot and gestured to indicate all of the dolls on the board.

"It's the same story with all of them. These past few years they have all grown to love and care for each other, and for people other than their father. They started out as daddy's little girls, but now they each have desires of their own." Rozen stopped and fixed his gaze upon Laplace, who was watching him in uneasy silence, waiting for him to get to the point.

"When I paid them all a visit as a young boy, I gave some of them parting words of wisdom. Can you guess what the most important message I gave was? Not the one to Shinku. Nor the words I gave to Suigintou." Rozen turned to regard the boyish doll lying a short distance away, her hat resting on the black square beside her. "It was the thing I said to Souseiseki. That was the most important thing I ever said to one of my daughters. It's the thing that you overlooked, Laplace, and it's the thing that will be your undoing."

"And what was this message of earth shattering importance?" Laplace asked mockingly, though Jun felt sure he heard a hint of worry creeping into his voice all the same.

"I told her to put her own happiness before mine," Rozen answered simply. Laplace frowned, not understanding.

"I fail to see-" he began. He was interrupted when Rozen pulled a glittering blue diamond from his pocket and tossed it towards him. The demon caught it on reflex and stared at it.

"Recognise it?"

"Should I?"

"I should think so. That's your daughter's little puzzle. The one she gave to me to solve, no doubt as a way to implant the idea of the Rozen Maidens and the Alice Game in my mind when I was young. To perfect the stone, I had to split it into seven fragments, refine each fragment separately, and finally fuse the fragments back together again. Sound familiar?"

Even Jun could see the similarity. "It's the same thing you did with the Rosa Mystica," he said, staring at the blue diamond in Laplace's hand. Rozen leaned forwards and pointed at the stone.

"Take a close look, Laplace. A short while ago I tackled the puzzle again, using the same stone Pandora gave to me all those years ago. Only this time I did something a bit different. Can you tell what it was?"

Laplace peered intently at the blue stone, his gaze penetrating the crystalline depths of the jewel. And then he saw it; faint traces of red veins deep within the diamond, marring the otherwise uniform blue shade of the stone. As soon as Rozen saw that he had spotted them he pulled his hand back and grinned, whilst all trace of smugness had disappeared from Laplace.

"You tainted it," said Laplace flatly.

"I split it into seven fragments again, added a few ... impurities? You could call them that, though I prefer to think of it as flavour. Then I fused the fragments back together. And as you can see, that added 'flavour' of red shows up in the complete stone." Rozen turned to Jun, who was finally starting to comprehend what he was getting at. Rozen voiced his thoughts out loud anyway, eager to paint a clear picture as to just why he had stood by and done nothing throughout Laplace's machinations.

"Alice is formed from the souls of the Rozen Maidens. Everything they were becomes a part of her, including all that disobedience, desire and self-interest my daughters have picked up of late. Shinku said that Alice should be selfless. She should. Selfless, proper, obedient ... a loving, devoted daughter, perfect in every way. Jun?"

Jun stared at Rozen, his eyes wide as he listened to every word. "Yeah?"

Rozen smirked at him. "Does any of that sound like the Rozen Maidens you know?"

Jun couldn't help smiling a little himself. "Not really, no."

Rozen turned to Laplace, who did not seem as remotely confident as he had a minute ago. "Well Laplace, you may have won the Alice Game, but something tells me you _haven't _won Alice ..."

As if waiting for him to finish, the crystal egg finally chose that moment to hatch, releasing an explosion of light that engulfed everything present. Nevertheless it was a soft light, and did not blind or hurt the eye. Gradually it receded, and as all three of them stared up at the source of that light they were witness to the birth of the ultimate girl.

Alice.

Her reputation didn't do her justice, Jun felt. A wasp could have flown into his open mouth and he wouldn't have noticed at that moment. He didn't believe in angels, but the girl that emerged from the crystal was so much like one she could have claimed to have come from heaven and Jun wouldn't doubt her for a second.

She was no doll, that was for sure. A human (albeit angelic) girl who looked to be physically about the same age as Jun was, Alice had long flowing hair that was white as the purest snow. She wore an equally white dress, with detached bell sleeves and a soft blue corset adorned with blue silk roses. Delicate ballet shoes fitted her white stockinged feet, and a pair of white feathered wings extended from her back.

Alice descended amidst a cloud of glowing white feathers, her entire body giving off a warm aura of light. She landed a short distance away from Jun, and he saw that her face was so indescribably adorable that it made his heart melt in adoration. Then she opened her eyes and he very nearly choked.

She had Shinku's eyes. There was no mistaking it; Jun had gazed into Shinku's eyes often enough to know them as well as his own. More, even. When Alice looked at him, he felt as if Shinku were looking at him.

"Alice," Laplace called out, extending a gloved hand towards her, "Come."

Alice turned to regard the demon, giving off a scent of newly bloomed roses as she did so. Jun felt paralysed by her, mesmerised. It took every ounce of willpower to be able to do anything but stand and gape vacantly at her, and even then he didn't have the faintest idea what to do or say. Amazingly, Rozen seemed to be just as stricken by her, though to be fair he was finally seeing the girl of his dreams in the flesh after centuries of waiting for precisely this moment.

"I know you," said Alice, her voice soft and faintly melodic. It was soothing, comforting, like being immersed in a pool of feathers.

"Of course you do, my dear," said Laplace invitingly, "I am your father."

"Father?"

"That's right. Take my hand, Alice."

Alice reached out towards Laplace's offered hand, startling Jun into action. He took a halting step towards her and cried out.

"No!"

She stopped and turned, casting those painfully familiar blue eyes upon Jun. As she did so, a flicker of recognition crossed her angelic face. She lowered her hand and stared at him.

"I know you as well," she said. Jun said nothing, finding it difficult to do anything but stare into her eyes. Alice seemed to forget about Laplace as she approached Jun instead.

"Alice!" the demon called out. She did not seem to hear, or if she did she paid him no mind. She walked up to Jun and stopped beside him, peering at him closely as if she were struggling to remember where she had seen him before.

"Juuuun," she said uncertainly, drawing out the sound of his name. He swallowed.

"Y-yeah."

"Jun," Alice repeated, saying his name normally this time, "I _do _know you."

"Do you?"

Alice reached up and gently touched her fingertips to his cheek. Her touch sent shivers down his spine. "Yes," she said, "You made me tea. Brushed my hair. Read me bedtime stories. I would climb atop your head and ride around on you. You protected me. Cared for me."

_"Your regard for me has definitely left its impression in here ..."_

_"Time for a Jun climb!"_

_"Keep reading, you!"_

_"Thank you, Jun!"_

_"You're a good boy, Jun."_

"I ..." Jun didn't know what to say. Laplace grew furious, clenching his hands tightly, his face contorting in frustration.

"Alice!"

Alice completely ignored him, instead taking a hold of Jun's hand and brushing her fingers over his own as she stared at the pale patch of skin where normally his rose ring would be.

"You swore upon my ring," she said slowly, "Swore to protect and serve me."

It took enormous effort to pull his hand away from her, his mind numbed by her awing presence. Nevertheless he did pull away, his gaze downcast. "No. I swore to Shinku, and she's ..." he turned and stared at the lifeless form of Shinku lying a short distance away. Alice did likewise.

"Am I not Shinku?" she asked, seemingly confused. Jun shook his head sadly, however Rozen spoke up in disagreement.

"She is Shinku. And Suigintou. Kanaria. Hinaichigo. Suiseiseki and Souseiseki. Kirakishou and Pandora," said Rozen, "She is all of them, and she is Alice. She has their memories, their feelings; their essence are what defines her."

"She is my daughter, and as such she will obey me," Laplace strode onto the chessboard, rapidly losing what little patience he had left. Jun rolled his eyes in annoyance, feeling more irritation at him now than any actual anger. He didn't have enough strength for anger anymore.

"Can't you do anything about him?" he asked Alice as he reached up and rubbed the side of his aching head. She blinked at the approaching demon, seemingly indifferent to Laplace's exasperation.

"What would you like me to do?"

"Someone should really teach him a lesson," Jun remarked wryly, "He's caused nothing but trouble for everyone."

Laplace finally stopped in front of Alice and then made the stupid mistake of reaching out to take a hold of her. Considering the kind of power she had it was perhaps not one of the wisest decisions he'd ever made. A few seconds later Jun bent over and picked him up.

Alice had turned Laplace into a stuffed white rabbit, complete with suit and top hat. Jun couldn't help giving a tired snort of laughter at that. He turned and presented the plushie to Alice with a faint smile on his lips.

"Here's your father."

Alice took the stuffed toy and hugged it. It gave a little squeak, but that was all.

"Thank you."

* * *

Rozen finished adjusting Shinku's ribbon and then leaned back. He had repaired the damage to all of the Rozen Maiden dolls, and they sat together in a row upon a gilded and velvet cushioned settee, within an N-Field recreation of their Lebensbaum home. Looking at them now, one wouldn't think they had all recently been involved in the largest and fiercest battle of their lives. They seemed so peaceful.

Of course there was a reason for that. They were no longer living dolls. Without Rosa Mysticas, the Rozen Maidens were now no different from any ordinary dolls. You could wind them up, but without a power source or a consciousness to drive them they would just sit there and do nothing.

"I'm sorry Jun, there's nothing I can do," Rozen lamented, laying a hand upon his shoulder. "I could breath new life into them, but ..."

"It wouldn't be them," Jun finished for him, his voice flat. And if it wasn't the Shinku he knew, what was the point? It might look like her, but it wouldn't _be_ her. Everything that made her who she was, was now a part of Alice. Alice, the perfect girl standing across the room hugging a stuffed white rabbit toy. Her wings and aura were gone now, apparently an effort on her part to try and be less of a distraction. It didn't make much difference though; she could distract you simply through the knowledge of her existence. It was no wonder Rozen had obsessed about her so much.

"Isn't there anything you can do?" Jun pleaded with Alice, desperately clutching at straws. The girl stared at him for a long moment and then gave a shake of her head. Jun regarded the lifeless dolls once more and sagged. So this really was it then. He had to go back to his ordinary life, without Shinku, and without any of her sisters. Move on. Try to forget about them. Deal with their loss. There were no more miracles, no more second chances. No amount of Maestro talents or magic fingers could get back what the dolls now lacked. The situation truly was hopeless.

Hope. Hah. After striving for so long to track down that most elusive of things, in the end it had turned out to be nothing but a sham. There was no magic genie in a box ready to put everything right and conjure up a happy ending. Laplace had been right about that after all - fairy tales were not nice, and Hope was the biggest fairy tale of them all.

Wordlessly, Jun strode forwards and picked up Shinku. Holding her in the way she'd taught him to, he turned and walked away.

"Jun, what are you doing?" Rozen called after him. He stopped and turned back, his face lined with sadness, his eyes downcast, heart heavier than it had ever been before.

"I'm going home, and I'm taking Shinku with me."

"Jun," Rozen said kindly, "She's just a doll now. Nothing more."

Just a doll. That's all she was.

_"But then, if you lose the Alice Game, what's gonna happen to you?"_

_"I will either become an ordinary doll, or perhaps ... I will become junk like her."_

_"What's that supposed to mean? What the hell's this Alice Game, anyway? What's the point in fighting if you could end up like this, huh?"_

_"You don't understand ..."_

He understood now, finally. The Alice Game was over, and now Shinku was just an ordinary doll. But she wasn't a piece of junk, and he'd made a promise to her. He had promised to serve and protect her for the rest of his life.

Even if she was just an ordinary doll now, he aimed to keep that promise.


	58. EP13: Niedergeist

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE THIRTEEN

Niedergeist

* * *

Time passed and Jun did his best to keep going. It wasn't easy. Once upon a time there had been a hole in his heart, and then Shinku had entered his life and filled it. Now that she was gone, he felt empty and aimless once more. He still recalled the time Shinku had lost her arm, and now that he had lost her he couldn't help but feel as if a part of him was missing as well. How he wished someone would magically mend him the way he had mended Shinku.

But he was strong, stronger than he had been before he'd heard the name Rozen Maiden. He didn't hide himself away in his room, didn't shut out the world and crawl into a corner as he'd once done before. He returned to school and studied hard for the upcoming entrance exams. Without anything or anyone to distract him, and desperately seeking a distraction, Jun threw himself into his studies, using the work to occupy his troubled mind.

His parents returned home, at long last. They were going to be able to stay for the entire summer break, which thrilled Nori no end. Jun on the other hand ... ordinarily he would have been happy to see them again, but after everything that had happened he just couldn't seem to find it in himself to smile anymore.

He was pouring Shinku's tea when a knock came on his bedroom door.

"Jun, can I come in?" his mother called out.

"Sure," Jun replied, not even glancing around. His door opened and Eiko Sakurada entered. She stood in the doorway and watched her son as he finished preparing tea for the blond doll sitting in the middle of the room. Naturally, Shinku did not react to her presence. She couldn't. The only reason she was even sitting where she was, was because Jun had placed her there. Her eyes were closed, because Jun couldn't stand to see her lifeless stare. It made his already aching heart throb with pain.

"I ... just came to wish you luck on your exams today," his mother said tentatively. She knew something was wrong with her son. Nori had explained to her that something had happened to upset him greatly, though would not say just what. After pouring Shinku's tea and setting the teapot down on the tray, Jun sat down opposite the doll and ... did nothing. Just stared forlornly at the teapot with his shoulders sagged. Eiko entered and closed the door behind her.

"You know," she said kindly, "I think she likes it. Don't you think she looks pleased, Jun-kun?"

Jun still did not look at his mother. He sighed heavily. "She hasn't even drunk any, mom. She can't."

Eiko knelt beside her son and regarded him with concern, wanting desperately to help him but not knowing how. She took a deep breath and tried again. "Yes, well ..." she hesitated, "Jun-kun ... if you don't mind me asking-"

"I do, but go ahead anyway."

"Why do you keep making tea for her? If you know she can't drink it-"

"I already told you; Shinku likes to have her tea prepared at the same time every day. I'm her servant, so it's my job to make the tea."

"And that television show?"

"Detective Kunkun," Jun answered shortly, his tone tired, as if he barely had the energy to respond to his mother's tedious questions, "It was her favourite show. She loved it. If she missed it she would get really angry."

Eiko fell silent for a while, unsure what else to say. Sure enough, every day at the same time her son made a pot of tea for the doll he kept in his room. And every day he insisted on putting the Kunkun show on television, then setting the doll down on the couch to watch it. It was the only time Jun ever insisted on what to watch, and he would always sit next to the doll, making dry remarks to it every so often. 'Kunkun really is a genius, isn't he Shinku?' he would say, and 'Don't worry Shinku, Kunkun's way too smart to fall for a dirty trick like that'.

Eiko was stumped. Her husband just shrugged his behaviour off, saying that at least it was an improvement from the way he'd been a few years ago when he locked himself in his room and ordered things online. And that was true, but it was still ... worrying. He acted as if the doll were a real girl. And the amazing thing was, his sister refused to talk about it. If Eiko tried to get Nori to speak about the doll, she would fall silent, a sad look upon her face. No amount of coaxing could get her to explain what it was all about.

"She's a very well made doll," Eiko said eventually, and that much was certainly true. In fact the first time she had set eyes on the doll she'd mistaken it for a little girl. It was so lifelike, so real, you could almost believe it _was _alive. "But Jun, don't you think you should ... go out once in a while? When we spoke to Nori over the phone she said you were going out during the day, that you were making friends and ..." She trailed off for a moment, before a sudden thought occurred to her. "What about that nice Suiseiseki girl? Are you still seeing her?"

Jun grimaced, though his mother didn't see. "I told you mom, Suiseiseki is a doll as well. She was just playing a trick on you that time you spoke to her. She was never my girlfriend."

"Oh, I see ... well what about Kashiwaba? Don't you want to go and see her? I know she's been helping you to study for the exams, but you don't have to _just _study when you're together. You could ... have fun. See a movie. Hang out together."

By now Jun was leaning his head against his hand and staring at Shinku, wishing his mom would stop trying to cheer him up or get him out of the house. It was getting annoying.

"Tomoe isn't my girlfriend either, mom."

"Of course not! But she is a very nice girl, and ... err ..."

"Human?"

"I didn't mean that!" Eiko hastily added. Jun merely rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well she's also a lesbian, mom, so unless I get a sex change anytime soon we're pretty much just going to stay friends."

Eiko gave her son a shocked stare, momentarily struck speechless by his blunt response. She cleared her throat and tried to stop from blushing so much. Eventually Jun took Shinku's untouched tea and poured it back into the teapot. His mother watched him as he carefully and methodically began tidying away. When he picked the doll up and placed her inside her doll case, Eiko gave an exasperated sigh and stood.

"You're almost fifteen Jun, I just think you're a little old to be having such an ... unhealthy fixation with that doll."

Jun snorted as he closed the lid of the doll case. "Yeah, well I think Micchan might disagree with you there," he muttered under his breath. Eiko pressed on, determined to say what she felt needed saying.

"I just want what's best for you. She's just a doll, Jun. She isn't a real person. I don't know what happened here while we were gone, but whatever it was it's important that you understand-"

"SHUT UP!"

Eiko stopped, stunned. Jun stood, trembling with barely controlled rage, on the verge of tears as he glared at his mother. She'd never seen him so furious before.

"Just stop it, okay?" Jun snapped, "You don't have any _idea _what I've been through! You can't imagine what Shinku meant to me! Not real? _Not real?_ Mom, these past two years she's been _more _real to me than you or dad have been!"

"You can't mean that Jun-"

"I do! You look at her, and all you see is a doll. I look at her and I see the best friend I ever had. Shinku taught me more than you ever did, she ... she helped me crawl out of my shell when no one else could." Jun was sobbing now, great fat tears streaming down his face. This was the first time he'd cried since the day he'd lost everything, the day Alice had been born. His mother listened, dumbstruck by his reaction and his words. "She gave me strength, gave me the courage to live and to fight," Jun went on, "She made me happy. She may be a doll, but she was a person too, mom, don't you understand?"

Eiko could only stare at her weeping son as he pulled off his glasses and buried his face in his hands. Ordinarily she would go to him and embrace him, try to comfort him with soothing words, but the things he said were so astonishing she was simply too thrown to do anything. Finally Jun seemed to get a hold of himself. He wiped his eyes and replaced his glasses, and in doing so noticed the time on his bedroom clock.

"I have to go," he said, "Exams start in a couple of hours, and I promised Tomoe I'd meet up with her before then."

Jun stopped at his bedroom door and seemed to consider something for a moment. Finally he turned back and regarded his mother with swollen red eyes, giving a short sniffle before he said one last thing.

"By the way mom, Kohaku sends her regards."

He departed, leaving Eiko standing in his room, gaping in silent shock.

* * *

At one time Jun would have been terrified at the prospect of sitting another entrance exam. Considering the last time he'd done so he had failed abysmally and become the laughing stock of the entire school, it was no wonder. On this occasion though an exam seemed like a joke to him. How could he be scared of something like that, given some of the things he had seen and done? Once upon a time he had fought off Suigintou in order to protect Shinku. He'd faced off against Barasuishou in the N-Field. He'd been held at gunpoint and shot at by hired thugs. He'd even had Kirakishou threaten to carve his eye out with a shard of crystal.

Exams? Pfft.

Between the excessive studying he'd done and the relaxed frame of mind that came from simply not caring about anything much, Jun found the exams to be remarkably easy. By the time the last one was done he walked out of school without the slightest concern that he might have failed.

"Oh no you don't," Tomoe grabbed a hold of Jun's hand and tugged him in the opposite direction, "Come with me, Jun."

"Why? Where are we going?"

"I've arranged to have a drink with a few friends," was all she would say. Jun didn't feel like it, but returning home would mean having to face his parents again, and he certainly didn't feel like that either.

Tomoe led him to a pleasant outdoor cafe about fifteen minutes walk away. It was a mild day, with clear skies and just enough of a soft breeze to keep it cool. As they approached one of the tables, Jun was startled to see that it was already occupied.

"JunJun!" Micchan waved happily as Jun and Tomoe drew near, "How'd the exams go?"

Megu was seated beside her, and gave them a smile and wave as well. She was doing well these days, or at least as well as could be expected. Her new heart was as strong as ever, her health improving constantly. Nevertheless she felt the loss of Suigintou just as keenly as Micchan mourned the loss of Kanaria.

"Hey guys, what are you all doing here?" Jun asked as Tomoe steered him into an empty chair, before slipping off to get them both some drinks. Micchan cupped her chin in her hands and sipped at her juice through a brightly coloured straw.

"Miss Kashiwaba thought it would be nice if we all got together and shared a drink," Megu explained, "In memory of the Rozen Maidens."

"Oh she did, did she?"

"We asked Mr and Mrs Shibisaki to come as well, but they couldn't make it. They said to give you their best wishes with your exams."

"Thanks."

Tomoe returned with two glasses of lemonade for herself and Jun, and sat down next to him. It was ... nice. The weather was good, there was no more studying to do for the foreseeable future, and Jun was with some of the few people who could understand how he felt. He wasn't the only one in pain over what had happened that day. Tomoe had lost Hinaichigo - again - Megu had lost Suigintou, and Micchan was herself lost without her little Kana.

"You know," Megu said after a couple of minutes silence had passed between them all, "I remember the first time I made tea for Suigintou ..." She smiled at the recollection and idly stirred her drink with her straw, "She took a sip of it and set the cup down. Then she walked over to me and slapped me."

"Why did she do that?" Tomoe asked, mildly astonished to hear it. Megu however merely giggled.

"That's just what I asked her. She said 'Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were trying to poison me.'"

Jun snorted at that, finding it easy to picture given what he knew of Suigintou. It sounded about right. Tomoe smirked.

"One time Hina snuck into my mom's room and used her lipstick as crayons to draw pictures with. When my mom found out, she got angry with me. I told her that it was Hina that had done it. I even brought Hina to my mom to get her to admit it." Tomoe chuckled softly at the memory. "Hina seemed to know she was in trouble, and pretended to be just an ordinary doll. She wouldn't move or say anything, and my mom told me off for trying to pin the blame on a doll."

Micchan laughed at that and recounted a similar story of her own. "It was because Kana played the violin you see. I loved to hear her play, but some of the neighbours weren't so happy about it. The woman who lives in the apartment below mine knocked on the door one evening to complain about the noise. 'But I don't play the violin!' I told her. She asked who it was then, and-"

"Naturally you told her it was your doll," Jun finished for her. She grinned and nodded.

"I take it she didn't believe you either," said Tomoe, to which Micchan laughed.

"Not at first, no, but when Kana began playing Beethoven's Violin Concerto right in front of her I think she started to. It was hard to say, what with the running away and screaming she did then."

That brought a smile to all of their lips, even Jun's, and he was astonished when he realised that he was actually smiling. He didn't think he could, not anymore. All three girls were watching him expectantly now, waiting for him to take his turn and say something about Shinku. His heart tightened a little when he understood that, but a memory floated to the forefront of his mind and he found that he actually wanted to talk about it.

"I remember once, the dolls were watching the Kunkun show," Jun began tentatively, eyes staring off into the past, "Detective Kunkun read out a fan letter he'd received, asking him what his idea of the perfect woman would be. Naturally he listed off all the things you'd expect - kind, caring, good at cooking and cleaning. He also listed off the traits she shouldn't have, and pretty much described Shinku in the process."

They chuckled at that, and somehow Jun found it easier to keep going. It was as if telling them made the weight on his heart easier to bear. He smiled. "Well you know Shinku; she adored that puppet dog more than anyone, practically worshiped him. She took his words to heart, and the next day we all woke up to find that she'd tried to clean the house and cook breakfast. Of course Shinku couldn't cook or clean if her life depended on it, and she just about burned the house down." Jun laughed a little, a faint grin spreading across his face. "She still insisted that we eat the breakfast she'd made us, but, well ... it was revolting stuff. The second she had her back turned, Suiseiseki started force feeding it all to me, shovelling it down my throat and nearly choking me to death at the same time. Then she told Shinku that I loved breakfast so much I stole hers and Hina's as well. Shinku ..." Jun reached up and wiped a tear away from his eye, his grin fading somewhat, "Shinku was so happy at that, the look on her face ..."

He fell silent, and nobody spoke for a while. Instead they all sat together while people around them went about their business, paying them no attention as they each thought fondly of the dolls that had brightened their lives and given them so much happiness. Finally Tomoe raised her glass in a toast.

"To lost friends," she said. Micchan joined her and raised her own glass.

"To the Rozen Maidens."

Jun raised his glass as well but said nothing, taking a sip of his juice whilst trying not to tear up in front of everyone. It wasn't easy.

He missed Shinku. He would go on missing Shinku tomorrow, and the day after. He'd miss Shinku for the rest of his life, even. The thought that he would never be able to speak to her again, argue with her, call her a rotten pretentious doll one moment and then brush her hair lovingly the next ... it made him want to scream until his voice gave out. Scream at the unfairness of it all.

"To Shinku," he whispered, blinking back tears.

* * *

Unbeknown to them they were being watched. Alice laid her hand against the surface of a mirror, which showed the four of them sitting together drinking their toast.

"To the Rozen Maidens," Alice murmured, repeating their words aloud to herself, "To Shinku ..."

She knew them, all of them. She remembered the incidents that they had each recounted as clearly as if she'd been there herself. In a way she sort of had. In a way she sort of hadn't. She was the Rozen Maiden dolls made whole, unified together into one being. Their memories were her memories.

Seeing her former friends and Mediums together, lamenting the loss of the dolls they had befriended, it ... pained Alice. She felt their sadness and loss, and longed to ease it. She supposed she could go to them, but ... somehow she didn't think that would help solve the problem. It wasn't her they wanted, it was the Rozen Maidens. The dolls they had come to know and love.

Alice turned away from the mirror and wandered through the sunlit house until she came to the room. The room that contained the Rozen Maiden dolls and their doll cases. All save Shinku of course. She stared at the collection of dolls, feeling an odd sense of vertigo to see the faces that were at the same time hers and not hers. Was there really nothing she could do?

She turned away from the dolls and instead made for the lone black doll case resting atop a small table. Pandora's Box. A part of her was Pandora as well, though that particular fragment of her had spent a great deal of time sleeping compared to the others. Alice opened the ebony doll case and stared at the white cushioned interior.

"Hope," she called out softly. Almost at once the inside of the case glowed with a bright light and the golden artificial spirit of Pandora emerged from within. It floated before her and pulsed at her in query. Alice turned from it to regard the Rozen Maidens, who lay together upon the settee.

"I wish to restore them to life," she said, addressing the tiny spirit, "Surely there is a way?"

Hope pulsed twice as it bobbed beside her.

Yes, it had said.

Alice stared at it. "How?"

At a price, it said.

"I will pay any price. I will do whatever it takes. These dolls brought joy and happiness to many people, yet they gave their lives so that I might live." Alice winced and stared at the ground, feeling a deep sense of guilt and shame over that particular fact. It troubled her still. Every moment she spent with Rozen, enjoying her new life, always there was the knowledge in the back of her mind as to just what her life had cost.

You are the price, Hope said. Alice nodded.

I ... I understand. Tell me what I must do."

It told her. She listened.

"I see. Very well. So be it."

Alice extended her hand in the direction of the other doll cases, which were stacked neatly together across the room. As one they all opened a crack, and from within emerged the artificial spirits.

All of them.

Meimei. Pizzicato. Sui Dream. Lempicka. Holie. Berrybell. Rosary.

Seven artificial spirits, a rainbow of colours. The glowing wisps of light drifted towards Alice and danced around her. She explained to them what her intentions were, and one by one she absorbed them into herself until they were all gone.

"What's going on?"

Alice opened her eyes and turned. Rozen stood in the doorway, a puzzled expression upon his face. She smiled at him and approached, reaching out to take his hand. He listened as she explained what she was about to do. To say that he was conflicted was something of an understatement. He searched about for something to say, only to find a thousand things suggest themselves. Finally he settled upon one simple word.

"Why?"

"I cannot live like this," she answered, her sparkling blue eyes struggling to convey how she felt, "Knowing that my life, my existence, comes at the cost of the life of seven girls. Your daughters, Rozen. Do you not wish to be with them again?"

Rozen reached out and laid his hand against her cheek. "I am with them. They are you. Are you not happy to be alive? I thought this was what you wanted - to be a real girl. You wanted it so badly that I swore I would do anything to give you life."

"I know," Alice admitted sadly, "And I truly am grateful, Rozen. I could not have asked for more from you. You granted my wish, even though I was nothing but a dream."

"You were much more than that-" Rozen started to protest. Alice raised a hand to stop him and gave him an appreciative smile.

"Thank you. But you said it yourself; your daughters grew to care for others, and those others are heartbroken over their loss. I care for those people as well, and it breaks _my _heart to see them suffering so."

"Then go to them," Rozen urged, "There's nothing stopping you from being with them, with any of them. Not now. You're real now, you're alive. You can do anything you want."

Alice shook her head and turned to regard the Rozen Maidens. "It is not I they want. It is them." She turned back and gazed up into Rozen's eyes, her own eyes clearly showing her resolve. Seeing this, understanding that her mind was made up, Rozen wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly.

"I don't want to lose you Alice, not now you are finally here. After all these years."

"You wont," Alice assured him, "As long as you continue to love your daughters, the emotional bond you share with them shall link their hearts and minds to yours. I shall remain in your dreams. As I always have."

As they pulled away, Alice stood on her tiptoes and cupped her hands around Rozen's face, a bright and warm smile upon her own.

"Farewell, my love ..."

She leaned close and kissed him. As she did so, she glowed with a bright nimbus of light and her outline began to blur and shimmer. When Rozen opened his eyes, Alice was gone amidst a final flare of light, and in her place floated the seven artificial spirits. He watched as they shot towards the Rozen Maiden dolls, slipped down their backs and entered through the winding holes they each had there. The dolls glowed with an intense inner light and, one by one, started to move ...

* * *

Jun shut the front door and slipped out of his shoes. Nori was in the hallway and greeted him. He gave a half-hearted response and slowly trudged upstairs towards his room. He wanted to get changed out of his school uniform and then collapse onto his bed. If he was lucky he might even be able to sleep tonight.

Something was wrong. As he shut his bedroom door some oddity flagged itself for his attention, though it took him a moment to work out what it was. There was a note lying atop Shinku's case. Feeling his heart leap into his throat, Jun hurried over and snatched it up. Written upon it in red ink was a simple and yet heart wrenchingly familiar question.

_~WILL YOU WIND?~_

"Yes!" Jun screamed, tossing the note aside. He wrenched the doll case open, pulled Shinku out and frantically snatched up her winding key. His pulse quickened and his heart raced as he heard the familiar sound of clicking gears. Unable to rein in his sense of hope and desperation, Jun set Shinku down and shuffled back to watch.

Nothing happened.

"Shinku," he wailed, surging forwards to grab hold of her, "Please Shinku! Please wake up! For the love of god, _please wake up_!"

Shinku remained as motionless as ever.

Just as he was about to throw back his head and scream out his frustration, an absurd thought occurred to him then. In fairy tales, there was always one thing guaranteed to wake up a sleeping princess.

A kiss.

With nothing left to lose and everything to gain, Jun leaned forwards and planted a kiss square upon Shinku's lips, pouring all of his heartache and yearning into it, willing with every ounce of willpower for her to wake up and kiss him back.

Shinku opened her eyes. Seeing this, Jun stopped kissing her and pulled back, his face breaking into the stupidest grin he'd ever shown in his life.

"Shinku! You're alive!"

Shinku slapped him. The shock alone was enough to send him reeling back, knocking his glasses crooked. Jun's hand shot to his stinging cheek and he stared at Shinku, a massive jumble of emotions coursing through him. He didn't know what to say first.

"What did you do that for?" his mouth eventually settled on. Shinku's response was as prim and proper as ever, her voice sweet music to Jun's ears and heart.

"No reason. I simply felt like it."

Jun sprang forwards and hugged Shinku tightly, and this time she did not slap him or object. It went on for quite some time. Only when he was utterly certain this was real and not some fervid dream did he let go of her. He nevertheless beamed at her, his heart soaring with indescribable joy.

"Shinku."

"Jun."

Jun laughed. "So you wanna explain how this happened? Because I don't mind telling you, I thought I would never get the chance to see you ever again."

"I take it you missed me then, Jun?"

"Hell yeah!"

Shinku giggled. "That is good to know. For now though, I would very much like a cup of tea. If it is not too much trouble?"

Jun jumped to his feet and snapped off a salute. "On it!"

Shinku watched him tear out of the room like a thunderclap, only to reappear a moment later and timidly peek around the door.

"Err ... you are gonna be here when I get back, right Shinku?"

"Of course I shall."

When he was gone again, Shinku turned away and smiled to herself.

"You're a good boy, Jun."


	59. EP13: Märchen

Here it is! At long last! The final chapter of the story! And it only took me about a year or so to write this whole fic. Well, I really hope you all enjoyed it. It's been a blast. I have a few other things I want to say, but rather than fill up the A/N section here with them I've decided to add an Afterword chapter on top of this one, bringing the entire fic up to a nice round sixty chapters total. You don't have to read it, as it's not crucial or anything, but if you're curious give it a look. Until then, please enjoy the final part of Märchen!

Woo!

* * *

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

EPISODE THIRTEEN

Märchen

* * *

DOLLHOUSE

The blog of Jun Sakurada

**#** Ever After

Well what d'ya know, this story had a happy ending. For a while there I really didn't think it would. In the end though, it looks like everything worked out for the best.

Okay, so where do I start? I passed my entrance exams. That was a relief. After the summer break I'll be starting at High School, along with Tomoe. I'm actually kinda looking forwards to it, surprisingly. You know, if you asked me a year ago about going to High School, I'd probably freak out and hide under my bed. Guess that just goes to show I've grown as a person.

The most important thing though is that the Rozen Maidens are back. All of them. Shinku explained to me how that came about. Apparently Alice decided to give up her life to restore them all, and she used their artificial spirits to do it. She imbued each spirit with the essence of the doll they had belonged to, their thoughts feelings and memories. By doing that she was able to turn them into a kind of substitute for the Rosa Mysticas. The only downside was that it meant giving up her own existence to do it.

For all Rozen's talk about how Alice inherited selfish self-interest, that was a pretty selfless thing she did. I really owe her for that, and I guess I kinda feel a little sorry for Rozen. He waited centuries to be with her, and now she's gone. At least he got to spend a little time with her, and now that the Alice Game is over there's nothing stopping him from seeing his daughters. They were all thrilled to finally be reunited with him, and I'll be joining them back at their home in Lebensbaum this summer. Apparently they're going to clean the whole place up and make it just like it used to be.

A summer spent cleaning. Oh joy. I'd just as soon as pass on that, actually, but Shinku insists I go and help out. I am her servant, after all, and boy she doesn't ever let me forget it. You know, you'd think after everything that happened she might treat me with a little bit more respect. Instead, she wants me to dress up as her butler. Unbelievable! The things I put up with.

Still, it's worth it. The look on my parents faces when I carried Shinku downstairs and introduced her to them - priceless. They honestly thought she was just a regular doll. Well, I guess maybe mom figured there was more to her after I reminded her about Kohaku. I think she forgot after all these years. They were still both shocked anyway. Ha, just wait until some of the other dolls come round to visit. I wonder how my parents will cope with Suiseiseki. I'm sure they'll love Hinaichigo.

Oh, that reminds me - Tomoe got herself a girlfriend! And by that I don't just mean a girl that she's friends with. Tatsuya Tsuzuki (yeah, her parents gave her a boys name), a girl from our class who's always been a friend of hers. That was the one who kept wanting to come round here and see the dolls. They've been spending more time together because Tatsu liked to visit and play with Hinaichigo. Tomoe assures me that it's nothing serious, but I've seen the both of them with Hina, and if you ask me it will be sooner or later. Which also reminds me, a funny thing happened the other day ...

* * *

Jun was surprised to see a boy standing at the front door to his house, seemingly trying to work up the nerve to ring the doorbell. As he approached he recognised him from school - it was Yamamoto. Frowning, Jun stopped behind him and said his name.

"Ahhh!" Yamamoto leapt with fright and spun around to face Jun, who stared blankly back at him.

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

He sagged with relief as he recognised Jun, then wilted further, his expression one of utter defeat. "It's no use. No matter how I try I never seem to be able to do it."

"Do what?"

"Ask your sister out. I keep trying to talk to her, but I either lose my nerve or something happens to get in the way."

Jun gawked at him. "You wanna ask _Nori _out? As in ... on a date?"

Yamamoto nodded, his shoulders slumped in weary resignation. Just as he was about stagger away, Jun grabbed a hold of his tie and yanked the front door open.

"Hey Nori!" Jun yelled as he dragged the poor boy through the doorway, "C'mere a minute! I found you a boyfriend!"

* * *

Where was I? Oh right, Micchan joined the Grimm Brothers' doll company and she's working alongside them now to design outfits and fashion accessories for dolls. Kanaria and Rosetta are competing to try and become the company mascot. Kanaria sees Rosetta as her 'arch nemesis', and the two dolls seem to be involved in some kind of insane battle of wits. Kanaria even started her own online blog about it, detailing the whole thing like some kind of military campaign. It's pretty damn ridiculous if you ask me. _Kana's Art of War_ it's called.

Enju is back as well. He's working in his old doll shop again, which he bought back from Micchan. Last time I stopped by I saw Kirakishou staying there with Barasuishou. The two of them have become pretty much inseparable now. It's a little bit creepy if you ask me, the way those two are. They're getting more and more alike each day, and it's got so they're finishing each others sentences off. The other dolls pretty much stay away from them, and I can't say I blame them. There's still a lot of bad feelings after what those two did at the end of the Alice Game. Maybe everyone will forgive and forget one day, but not today.

Oh yeah, while I was there I ran into a familiar face ...

* * *

Eiko Sakurada was outside enjoying the summer heat and hanging the washing out on the line. She hummed to herself as she worked and bent down to lift a sheet from the basket. As she straightened up she found herself face to face with a pair of orange eyes framed by cherry red hair.

"Boo," said Kohaku.

Eiko yelped and dropped the sheet back into the basket. Jun lowered the Enju doll a fraction and smirked at his startled mother. Her eyes grew wide and she stared at Kohaku in utter astonishment.

"K-Ko ... haku?" she whispered, scarcely able to believe it. The doll smiled.

"Miss me, Eiko?"

Jun set her down on the ground and stood upright, dusting his hands off. His mother continued to give Kohaku a shocked stare.

"Mom?"

Eiko tore her gaze away from the little red-head and regarded her smirking son as he stuck his hands on his hips. "Y-yes?" she said.

"You're never too old to play with dolls," said Jun, before turning and striding away. Kohaku leapt up and grabbed a hold of Eiko, laughing as Jun's mother caught her.

* * *

As far as Suiseiseki and Souseiseki are concerned, they both moved back in with Mr and Mrs Shibisaki, who were overjoyed. Without the threat of the Alice Game looming over everyone's heads now, I doubt they will be forced to leave them again. Also I got invited over there for dinner tomorrow. Suiseiseki is cooking. I know she's a good cook, but I can't help feel a little ... what's the word I'm looking for? Afraid? Yup, that's the word.

Oh yeah, Suigintou. How could I forget her? She's still staying with Megu, only now I have to keep paying them both a visit, because Shinku insists on stopping by there a heck of a lot. I usually end up playing chess or cards with Megu while Shinku and Suigintou catch up. And by 'catch up' I mean they sit there and lament how utterly useless Megu and I are whilst sipping tea. Whatever, as long as they're happy.

I think that's about it. Things are just about back to normal, I guess. Well, as normal as things get when you live and hang out with a bunch of magical foul-tempered obnoxious demonic dolls from hell. On the plus side Rozen doesn't have to hide away from everyone now, and he's actually pretty good at keeping the dolls in line. When he makes the effort that is. He offered to take me on as his apprentice once I finish with High School. I might take him up on that. If being Rozen's apprentice doesn't get me some respect from his daughters then _nothing_ will.

Looking back on it all, everything that has happened these past couple of years has been largely down to that one decision I made. That all important question; will you wind? I chose to say yes. I wound Shinku and my entire life changed because of that. Did I do the right thing? Did I make the right choice, to wind?

Yes. I have no doubt about that at all. If I could go back and do it all over, I'd make the same choice. I don't regret it for a second. I don't know how my life would have turned out had I chosen not to do it, but I'm convinced things worked out for the best this way. It made me a better person, and I like to think I made a difference as well.

I have to go now, Shinku is demanding I make her some tea, and I haven't even started packing for the trip to Lebensbaum. She is such a bossy, pretentious, pushy little doll, I swear ...

Ah, who am I kidding. I love her.

* * *

"Hina!"

"Kana!"

"Hina!"

"Kana!"

"Unyuu!" Hinaichigo wailed, "Father! Which one of us is right?"

Rozen stopped before them and considered for a moment, looking from one to the other as they watched him expectantly.

"Actually ... you're both wrong. Souseiseki was right." Rozen turned as he heard a loud crash and clutched at the side of his head. "Suiseiseki! What are you _doing_? I told you not to touch that!"

"You did? I so do not remember that. I swear Father, this place is such a dump! We should so totally demolish the whole thing and start over."

"Suiseiseki!" her twin scolded, "We can't do that! This is our birthplace, our heritage."

"It's a mouldy old death-trap, is what it is!"

Jun watched their efforts with a faintly bemused expression as the dolls struggled to clean and tidy the centuries old Rozen Estate. He stood beside a high-backed chair next to the window, in which sat Shinku, drinking the tea he had just served her. After a while he leaned over and spoke to her.

"You know Shinku, you could just wind time back a little and this whole place would be spotless and clean with a lot less trouble."

"Perhaps," Shinku accepted, "However they all seem to be having such fun, do they not? I see no reason to deprive them of this opportunity to enjoy themselves."

"Why don't you at least help out?" Jun suggested, already knowing the answer to that but asking it regardless. Shinku lifted her chin and pointed her nose in the air haughtily.

"No thank you, it all seems much too tiring to me." She lowered her gaze and frowned for a moment. "Jun? What is the time, please?"

Jun gaped at her. "You _do _have a pocket watch you know. Check it yourself."

THWACK!

"Ow! Dammit, what did you hit me for?"

Shinku lowered her cane. "You _are_ my servant, Jun; it is your duty to perform whatever task I give to you. Now kindly tell me the time."

Grumbling profusely, Jun pulled back his sleeve and glanced at his wristwatch. "Five minutes to nine."

"Well hello you two," said a familiar voice, "Enjoying ourselves are we?"

Suigintou stood before them, smiling impishly in that way she often did these days. Jun glowered at her and crossed his arms defensively. "We were until you showed up," he muttered sullenly.

"Pay him no attention, Suigintou," said Shinku tartly, "He has yet to learn his proper place."

"Oh I don't know," Suigintou struck a mockingly thoughtful pose and regarded Jun shrewdly, "I think Jun will make simply one _hell_ of a butler someday."

"Bite me," Jun barked back. Suigintou giggled.

"My, Jun, is that a hint of jealousy I detect in your voice?"

"I believe it was ..." said Shinku, concurring with her. Jun stuck his hands on his hips and rolled his eyes at them both.

"Jealous? No, whatever gave you that idea? I mean it's not like I have a _problem_ with the fact that Shinku kissed you and agreed to elope with you or anything. Lord knows it's not like we don't have enough incestuous love affairs around the place ..."

Suigintou moved to the other side of Shinku's chair and all but draped herself on her little sister, stroking Shinku's golden blond hair as she did so whilst treating Jun to a taunting smirk. "Oh my! Aren't we a bitter child? I have an idea Jun; why don't you help Shinku and I to have a bath later? From what dear Suiseiseki tells me you quite enjoy looking at dolls in the bath, and you can even wash our backs for us ..."

Jun stared at them both, and annoyingly Shinku said nothing. She simply stared back at him along with Suigintou, watching with faint amusement as his cheeks flushed red with heat and his glasses slipped down his nose a little. He swallowed and hastily glanced at his watch again.

"Hey Shinku, isn't the latest episode of Detective Kunkun about to start?" he said hurriedly, "It's supposed to be a special episode that introduces his new arch enemy. Y'know, the Moriarty to his Sherlock. You don't want to miss that."

"Indeed. Suigintou, would you care to join us?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Shinku my love ..." Suigintou said seductively, before shooting Jun a wicked smile.

They had a television set up in the drawing room, a big modern wide screen thing with top quality speakers and everything. The only slightly troubling issue was the lack of electricity. And no satellite or cable hook up. Jun stood before it and scratched the top of his head with the remote control.

"You know, I think I might have spotted the problem here ..."

"Oh no!" Hinaichigo wailed from her spot on the settee, "Does this mean we can't watch the Kunkun show?"

"Fret not, ladies," said Rozen, "It's all in hand." He stood beside the television set, reached out and tapped it, once. It immediately sprang to life, humming with power, the picture displaying the intro credits for the Kunkun show. Jun gaped at Rozen in astonishment as he grinned back.

"Magic fingers," he explained, wiggling said digits. Jun snorted.

"You don't say."

They all sat down to watch the show - Jun, the Rozen Maidens and their father. It started normally enough, with a blood curdling murder that required the great canine detective to be called in to investigate. Everyone was rooted to the screen in anticipation, drinking in every moment of the compelling story. Finally Detective Kunkun revealed how the crime had been committed, and the music swelled to a dramatic crescendo.

"This entire affair has been planned from the very beginning!" Kunkun declared boldly, drawing hushed gasps from the assembled group.

"Who could be responsible for such a heinous scheme?" Detective Cat demanded, breathless.

"None other than that napoleon of crime! That criminal mastermind known as ... Laplace no Ma!"

On screen, the camera shifted to focus on a shadowy figure that emerged from a place of concealment. It was unmistakably a stuffed white rabbit in a suit and top hat - the plushie that the real Laplace had been transformed into by Alice. He gave a theatrical bow and said in a mysterious voice; "You do well to beware of rabbit holes so that you do not lose your nimble poise ..."

At this a trapdoor opened up beneath Kunkun and Detective Cat, dropping them both into an unknown fate. The dolls cried out in alarm at this, all save Shinku, who merely smiled confidently.

"Fear not sisters; Detective Kunkun shall escape and soundly defeat Laplace. By hook or by crook, he shall prevail, for he is truly a genius."

THE END


	60. Afterword

**Rozen Maiden: Märchen**

AFTERWORD

* * *

So that's it. After all this time, I have finally finished the story. My attempt at a third season of that great show, Rozen Maiden. It's been fun. Really, I had a ton of fun writing this. That's why I started doing it, and that's why I kept it up. I can honestly say I had more fun writing this fic than anything else I've ever written. Rozen Maiden is just fun to write for. I love it. It's my favourite show of all time, and that's saying a lot.

Do I think that a real third season of the show would play out like this? Probably not, no. For one thing I seriously doubt an actual third season would have as much romance and kissing in it as this had. I mean just look - I marked this as Drama/Romance. Rozen Maiden isn't really a romance series. I think there's just a tendency with a lot of fans (of any franchise or series) to put emphasis on the romantic pairing/shipping aspects. I'm no exception. If they did include more romance, I think it would probably be between Jun and Shinku, or Jun and Tomoe. Perhaps a little of both, as I did at the start of the story.

Obviously as well a third season wouldn't have had Kohaku or Pandora, or any of the original characters I created for this. I still think it would have had new characters, but we have no way of knowing who they would be or what they would be like. I hope that my OC's did not overshadow the main characters, because ... they just shouldn't. If you're a Rozen Maiden fan then it's because you like the Rozen Maidens, like the canon characters, and want to see more of them. I did my best to keep the canon characters the centre of the story, and I also did my best to try and give all of them a decent amount of screen time. I still feel a few of them could have done with a bit more though. I would have liked to have had more Hinaichigo, Kanaria and Megu, at the very least. Megu especially, I feel like I underused, and that there was more potential for her character.

I hope the ending was also a good one. I still don't know what they would have done with the Alice Game and Rozen's promised alternatives had they gone on and made a third season. We can only speculate and guess. I doubt that it would involve finding a magical McGuffin that could simply transform one of them into Alice. At first that was the best I could come up with, hence the inclusion of Pandora. I was originally going to have her be an actual genie in a box that could make one of them Alice, and would do so without complaint. But I wasn't happy with that idea at all, and it eventually evolved into what it did.

No, I think it probably would have required them to _do _something specific. The only thing I can imagine in that regards is the idea I had Shinku put forth in episode twelve - namely that the dolls could willingly give their Rosa Mysticas to one of their sisters, essentially 'electing' and turning her into Alice without any fighting involved. The only sticking points there I can see are Suigintou and Kirakishou, neither of whom I think would be willing to go along with that. Suigintou maybe, with some convincing. Or perhaps the other dolls would give their Rosa Mysticas willingly to Suigintou so she could use their power to heal Megu's heart, and she would either have to fight Kirakishou for the last Rosa Mystica, or would simply become Alice then because of the selfless act of the whole thing. Or maybe Kirakishou would abduct Megu before Suigintou could heal her, and she would be forced to fight the seventh doll to save Megu.

That wouldn't be half so bad, come to think of it.

Anyway, I'm done with this now. You all got the happy ending you asked for, and I admit I certainly wanted a happy ending for it as well. I love all of the characters and I'd hate to see the series end on a downer. I'm probably going to take a break for a while, work on some non-fanfic writing and stuff. I have an idea for a prequel story I might write at some point, showing how Rozen met Alice for the first time and fell in love with her, after becoming trapped in a nightmarishly twisted version of his dream world and fighting to save his soul tree. Might give it a shot, if I have the time and energy.

Last of all, I'd like to thank everyone. Everyone who took the time to read this, follow it, favourite it and review it. I'd also like to give special thanks to Atama Ga Kuru Teru, Angel-chan Desu, xXLapisXxLazulixXFujisakiXx, and MaydoubleA. The reviews and support you guys kept giving me are largely why I stuck with this to the very end. If it weren't for you I probably would have given up on this.

*glomps you all*

Thank you. Really. I just hope you enjoyed the story and that it lived up to your expectations.

Of course I have to thank PEACH-PIT as well, for making Rozen Maiden in the first place! Thank you! It's an awesome series and I love it to bits. Hell, I love it so much I wrote this damn thing, didn't I? You could fill a book with this fic, that's how much I love Rozen Maiden. The only thing I could love more is if you actually went and made a real third season. We're all waiting for that to happen. *hint*hint*

Before I go, I compiled a list of quotes taken from Märchen, just some I liked. Yes I know, it's really big-headed and egotistical of me to quote my own work, but dammit I deserve a little indulgence after actually writing all of this. Besides, no one is forcing you to read it.

Or are they? o_O

So long everyone, and take care of yourselves. Buh-bye! *waves*

* * *

"Are you kidding me? No way! I'm not dressing up as a girl!" - Jun, EP2 (That's what you think Jun)

"She's my angel of death. She's supposed to take my life away, but she keeps refusing to. I guess you could say that she's not a very good angel of death." - Megu, EP2

"W-why? What good will that do? This isn't a fairy tale. She's not going to wake up if I k-kiss her!" - Jun, EP2 (Kinda hilarious in hindsight, given the final episode)

"A persons tree is a representation of their soul. Your tree is small and stunted because you're such a puny little runt." - Suiseiseki, EP2

"Do dolls get fat if they eat too much? They don't seem to." - Jun, EP3

"I live in a house full of creepy supernatural dolls that move about and talk just like regular people." - Jun, EP3 (Kinda sums up Rozen Maiden, really)

"Well he might be disappointed, I'm pretty sure Kashiwaba is gay ..." - Kitagawa, EP3 (And people were surprised when I revealed this to be the case. Episode _three_ people!)

"Stop that!"  
"Stop?"  
"That! Stop repeating everything I say! I swear, you're so totally annoying. Did anyone ever tell you that you have all the personality of a brick?" - Suiseiseki & Barasuishou, EP3

"Oh. Really? I didn't realise I was such a bad kisser. In my defence it was my first time and I was unconscious, so ..." - Tomoe, EP3

"Hey! There's such a thing as personal space you creepy yellow-eyed thing, you!" - Suiseiseki, EP3

"Shinku, I love you! I love you, I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU SHINKU!" - Jun, EP3

"You wouldn't believe what she did to me while you were gone. It was horrifying. I dare not speak of it lest your hair turn white with shock and your puny brain curdle inside your skull." - Suiseiseki, EP3

"PERVERT! Just look at the puny lecherous runt! The evidence is clear for all to see!" - Suiseiseki, EP4

"Admit it Jun, you have a doll fetish!" - Suiseiseki, EP4

"Just don't let it happen again or I will have no choice but to mash your puny body into a paste and feed it to the nearest cat, you big doll lover you." - Suiseiseki, EP4 (That whole scene was so much fun to write)

"What's a pervert?" - Hinaichigo, EP4

"I'm moving to Osaka. Don't even think of trying to stop me." - Jun, EP4

"You know something Hina? You're closer to being Alice than I've ever been." - Suigintou, EP4 (Sometimes I think I made Suigintou too nice)

"I simply felt the desire to stare at the boy who confessed his love for me, that is all. If you ever feel the need to stare at me, please feel free to do so." - Shinku, EP4

"You never cry. You always say that I'm the strong one, but I'm the one that always cries."  
"I think that's because you cry for me Suiseiseki. You take all my pain and sadness and grief into yourself so I don't have to feel it. You shoulder my burdens, that's why you're so strong. I'd be lost without you."  
"Well of course! What's a big sister for?" - Suiseiseki & Souseiseki, EP4

"As if! The puny runts courage is as small as his teeny tiny-"  
"Hey! At least I didn't just spend the last hour and a half cowering into the cushions because of a dumb film!"  
"-tree! What was that? I so was not cowering! Take that back you!" - Suiseiseki & Jun, EP5

"I can't sleep in the same bed as you!"  
"Why ever not?"  
"Because you're a _girl_."  
"Really now Jun, your powers of observation are remarkable. Detective Kunkun would be impressed." - Jun & Shinku, EP5

"You know, after what just happened to me, I'm not even going to say anything." - Jun, EP5 (Said after he found Tomoe and Nori in bed together)

"Watching a horror movie, are they? Well then, Kana will just have to show them what _real_ horror is all about!" - Kanaria, EP5

"I hate you."  
"No you don't. I'm a lovable rascal." - Jun & Suiseiseki, EP5

"Honestly human, you have all the charm of an alligator with tooth ache. Would it kill you to say something nice about me once in a while?" - Suiseiseki, EP5

"I'm hideous! I'm as ugly as the ugliest duckling, this is terrible! I'm so ashamed! How can you even stand to look at me? I should lock myself in a tower somewhere to spare the world the sight of my ghastly features, lest I turn people to stone when they gaze upon my unsightly and horrific visage! Oh cruel world, why do you torment me so? What did I ever do to deserve such a curse? Why me? WHY?" - Suiseiseki, EP5 (Hamming it up in grand style)

"Jun isn't exactly Tomoe's type, if you know what I mean. You do know what I mean right? Well, let's just say her fondness for the lily flower is very symbolic." - Suiseiseki, EP6 (Seriously, did I really not drop enough hints that Tomoe was gay?)

"What? How could you accuse Suiseiseki of such a heinous crime! I swear, you have so hurt my poor delicate feelings with these baseless accusations of yours!" - Suiseiseki, EP6

"Wooo! You may now kiss the bride!" - Suiseiseki, EP6

"Hello Jun, I thought I'd come in the traditional way this time; through the front door."  
"It's traditional to wait for the door to open first." - Suigintou & Jun, EP7

"Shinku, are you drunk?"  
"Only on you ..." - Jun & Shinku, EP7

"Shinku. It's always Shinku with you, isn't it? Why can't you give some love to your big sis? I mean a girl has needs, you know?" - Nori, EP7

"Please Jun-kun! I want my first time to be with you! I want to give you my virginity!"  
"Keep it! I have my own!" - Nori & Jun, EP7

"Okay, are you ready?"  
"Ready!"  
"No peeking ..."  
"Hina doesn't peek! Now stop dawdling and put it in Hina's mouth already!" - Kanaria & Hina, EP7

"Umm, Jun-kun ... since when did you grow _those_?" - Nori, EP7 (Right after she felt up Tomoe)

"I'm sorry Jun, I'm afraid I can't do that ..." - Suigintou, EP7 (Doing her HAL impersonation)

"I suggest you start running Jun, because when I catch you I am going to make you _junkless_ ..." Suigintou, EP7

"You as well? What the hell is this, national incest day?" - Jun, EP7 (It is when I'm doing the writing)

"Really now Hinaichigo, you are filthy."  
"Got blowed up." - Shinku & Hina, EP7

"Then who _are_ you going to marry?"  
"Who else? Detective Kunkun of course." - Souseiseki & Shinku, EP7

"STOP THE WEDDING!" - Jun, EP7

"Right. Steering's a bit wonky. Gotta be careful ..." Rozen, EP7

"Rozen? _You're_ Rozen?"  
"No, I'm really his evil twin brother come to steal your cookies! That ... that was a joke. I was kidding. I don't have an evil twin brother, and if I did and I was him, I certainly wouldn't announce it like a complete ... you know what, never mind ..." - Jun & Rozen, EP8

"Listen, whoever you are you can't just come barging into my house at this time of night!"  
"Actually, I'm pretty sure I can. Or have you just not been paying attention to anything these past couple of minutes?" - Jun & Rozen, EP8 (Really, writing young Rozen was fun)

"Which is how I wound up here in what is, from your point of view, the present day. From my point of view, I'm in the future. It's a whole big ... subjective point of view sort of ... thing. Mess." - Rozen, EP8 (He really has a way with words)

"I'M A GUY!" - Jun, EP8 (Just keep telling yourself that, Jun)

"Yeah, well I bet you'd never catch Rozen wearing a dress ..." - Jun, EP8 (Five seconds before being proven wrong)

"Yes! Well, no ... I have a thing. It's sort of like a plan but ... better. Just wait. First thing tomorrow I'll have us in Lebensbaum. Trust me, I'm a ... well I'm just a kid, but I'm basically trustworthy, so you can certainly trust me. Take my word for it. It's a good word. It should be, after all it's my word and I'm trustworthy so ..." - Rozen, EP8

"Hey, everyone, guess who's here!"  
"Nothing good ever starts with 'guess who's here' ..." - Hina & Jun, EP8

"Oh Father ... I am Suigintou, and I am ... your first." - Suigintou, EP8 (Which can so be taken the wrong way)

"Really now Shinku, you ought to try having some vulgar thoughts of your own. You never know, you might like it." - Suigintou, EP8

"Unyuu? What's Hentai?" - Hina, EP8

"Word! Word! I need a word!"  
"Umm, parsnips? Wood? Sunshine? Sunshine is a good word." - Rozen & Nori, EP8 (The word was actually Eureka)

"Do you think anything happened between them?"  
"Such as?"  
"I don't know - what do humans normally do in bed together?"  
"Sleep?"  
"No, not just that. They do ... stuff."  
"Stuff?"  
"They do gooey mushy touchy feely stuff. You know!"  
"I certainly do not." - Suiseiseki & Shinku, EP9

"You can't be serious? If Suigintou saw this she'd chop the puny runt into so many pieces that not even Shinku could Humpty Dumpty him together again ... I'll go get her!" - Suiseiseki, EP9

"Well I have to say that sleeping with a lady's father is _not_ the best way to further a relationship with her." - Shinku, EP9

"I am Kirakishou. The seventh Rozen Maiden doll."  
"And that is all that you are. Nothing less ... and nothing more." - Kirakishou & Barasuishou, EP9

"I'm Jun's new boyfriend! Pleased to meet you!" - Rozen, EP9

"Hey hey, hands off the merchandise! Didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to touch a lady without her permission?" - Kanaria, EP9

"Freak! The only freak around here is that puny moronic doll-loving cross-dressing four-eyed RUNT!" - Suiseiseki, EP9

"Jun is going to be very angry when he sees this ..."  
"Don't worry yourself so. If he gives you any trouble then I shall simply pin him to the wall and use him as a human dartboard for our amusement." - Souseiseki & Suigintou, EP9

"Geez, you travel a couple of hundred years into the future and look what happens to the place ..." - Rozen, EP9

"Wait ... you said that you normally _sleep_ with your sister."  
"That's right."  
"Your _dead_ sister?"  
"Yup. She should still be here actually; we're going to see her now." - Jun & Rozen, EP9 (Implied incestuous necrophilia ... way to go Rozen)

"I'm sure they'd be thrilled to know that. And how wonderful; I grow up to be a voyeur. Marvellous." - Rozen, EP9 (Talking to himself)

"Yes, but present Father brought past Father to the here and now so he could help Jun find a special doll for us, and past Father is young like Jun is and can speak to us and be with us even though none of us are Alice yet." - Hina, EP9 (Summing up the situation remarkably well)

"I _hate_ dolls! It's like trying to freakin shoot Yoda!" - Max, EP9

"Oh please, it would take far more firepower than a handful of puny 9mm parabellum rounds to slow the great Kanaria down. Now then, let me show you how _I_ argue with the barrel of a gun ..." - Kanaria, EP9

"Wow, Jun ... I didn't expect you to look so ... so ..."  
"_Bishie_!" - Souseiseki & Nori, EP10

"This isn't what it looks like. Unless it looks like I'm trying to steal Pandora's Box and make off into the night with it, in which case it actually _is_ what it looks like ..." - Emil, EP10

"Have no fear! For I, Kanaria, have already devised the solution to that dilemma! It's simplicity itself, y'know?" - Kanaria, EP10

"I'm fourteen, I'm not old enough to drink."  
"For all intents and purposes you're twenty five; drink." - Jun & Micchan, EP11

"Aahhh! Akihiro Enku! Jun, that's Akihiro Enku!"  
"Great. Who's Akihiro Enku?" - Micchan & Jun, EP11

"Not to worry, I already anticipated that eventuality during the planning stages of this marvellous and ingenious scheme of mine. Like I said before, we want him to think he has the upper hand. Little does he suspect that he's up against the one and only Kanaria! I'm more than a match for his woefully inadequate intellect, y'know?" - Kanaria, EP11 (I just love writing Kanaria, she's so much fun)

"Trust in the Kana; the Kana is good." - Kanaria, EP11

"Hina wants some mammaries too!" - Hina, EP11

"You never blew up the kitchen again, did you Master Rozen?"  
"Little bit, yes." - Mary Ann & Rozen, EP12

"I've been waiting all morning, _you_ promised you would take me out today. You do remember, don't you? Thirty nine hours twelve minutes fifty three seconds ago it was. I haven't forgotten you know." - Ada, EP12

"Big brother has special feelings for number five, doesn't he? Oh yes he does I think ..." - Ada, EP12

"Your limited cognitive functions are woefully insufficient to accomplish such a trifling feat. Take care you do not strain your brain unduly in the attempt." - Pandora, EP12 (This line was actually said by Ada, who was herself quoting Pandora)

"The Hope diamond? Really now Rozen, that _is_ silly." - Pandora, EP12

"When all seems lost. When all hope has faded. Then I shall awaken and embrace the light of truth." - Pandora, EP12

"How many times have I told you, I am _not_ a freaking teddy bear! Let go! ARGH! Dammit Nori, get yourself a boyfriend already, you're freaking me out!" - Jun, EP12

"First you guys turn me into an adult. Then you turn me into a kid. And now you've dressed me up as a schoolgirl. Do me a favour will you?"  
"What?"  
"STOP HELPING ME!" - Jun & Suiseiseki, EP12

"Oh Shinku, you're trying to spare my feelings. How sweet of you. There's really no need, I assure you." - Suigintou, EP12

"Such a pretty face, Shinku, you do it an injustice gaping at me so. Would it trouble you to give me a simple smile?" - Suigintou, EP12

"Fair is foul and foul is fair, come and see me, if you dare ..." - Kirakishou, EP12

"When did _you_ two become so close? Does the puny runt know the two of you are tasting each other's lips?" - Suiseiseki, EP12 (Upon seeing Suigintou about to kiss Shinku)

"Yaagh! Stay away you! I so do not want your puny lips anywhere near mine!"  
"Suiseiseki! Come back, Hina loves you too!" - Suiseiseki & Hina, EP12

"They wont suit you. Try a monocle." - Jun, EP12 (When Kirakishou took his glasses)

"I am Kirakishou."  
"I am Barasuishou."  
"And together-"  
"We are-"  
"The seventh Rozen Maiden doll ..." - Kirakishou & Barasuishou, EP12

"If Father admires your eyes so, well then, I shall be the one to wear them." - Kirakishou, EP12

"Suigintou ... you are simply radiant. You're finally ready to prove to everyone that you truly have what it takes to be the perfect girl. And that is why I am giving you my Rosa Mystica." - Shinku, EP12

"I am Suigintou, proud first of the Rozen Maiden dolls, and I will not let such a wretched, insolent and _horrid_ little sister become Alice!" - Suigintou, EP12

"And so, in the end, the winner of the Alice Game ... is me ..." - Laplace, EP13

"Yeah, well she's also a lesbian, mom, so unless I get a sex change anytime soon we're pretty much just going to stay friends." - Jun, EP13

"I shall remain in your dreams. As I always have." - Alice, EP13

"The light of truth eludes us." - Rozen Maiden: Märchen


End file.
